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Record of Proceedings

City of Delaware Civil Service Commission Meeting - March 4, 2026

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, March 4, 2026
BodyDelaware, Ohio
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, March 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 13:34

Original source
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0:04

Good afternoon.

0:05

It's 3 30, and I will call the um March 4th meeting of the Civil Service Commission to order.

0:13

Sarah, would you please call the roll?

0:15

Miss Hollyhan Hollingshead Mansell.

0:18

Here.

0:19

Vice Chair Hurley?

0:20

Here.

0:21

Chair Santos.

0:22

Here.

0:24

Um would you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance?

0:30

I plug the Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

0:38

One nation under God.

0:40

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:44

Thank you.

0:51

Um, would you please read in item three on the agenda?

0:56

Approval of the motion summary of the civil service commission meeting held on December 3rd, 2025, as recorded and transcribed.

1:03

Thank you.

1:04

You should have received those minutes via email from uh Sarah when you got your packet.

1:10

Are there does the commission have any questions or comments regarding the minutes as recorded?

1:18

Uh I do have one comment.

1:20

Um second to last paragraph.

1:23

My name is hyphenated.

1:24

It is not hyphenated.

1:26

Um just inconsistent throughout.

1:27

Thank you.

1:28

Thank you.

1:30

Thank you.

1:31

Any other comments or questions regarding the minutes?

1:35

Hearing none, I would call for a motion to approve.

1:39

So moved.

1:40

Sir second.

1:41

I second.

1:42

Thank you, Sarah.

1:43

Would you please call the roll?

1:44

Miss Holly and Mansell.

1:48

Yes.

1:49

Vice Chair Hurley.

1:51

Yes.

1:52

Chair Santos.

1:53

Yes.

1:55

Thank you.

1:56

We have one person in the audience.

1:59

Do you have anything you would like to comment on?

2:02

Um, Sarah, did we receive any emails, letters, or petitions?

2:05

No, ma'am.

2:06

Thank you very much.

2:07

Item five A.

2:10

Sarah, would you please read that into the record?

2:13

2026 firefighter recruitment process update.

2:18

Thank you.

2:18

Chief Pyle.

2:23

Can you go over some of the changes?

2:26

Yes.

2:26

So our Whitney is fast.

2:29

Either one.

2:30

It's just the written exam.

2:31

Yeah.

2:32

So we um kind of flipped a couple things around.

2:36

Initially, we would always accept scores for the uh firefighter recruiting process first and then have them apply.

2:42

What we're finding out is people will blast their scores to different places, but not necessarily apply.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████37%
Public Safety████████████████████████████████████36%
Personnel Matters███████████████████████████27%
Summary of Proceedings

City of Delaware Civil Service Commission Meeting - March 4, 2026

The Civil Service Commission held its regular meeting on March 4, 2026, at 3:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting covered updates on firefighter recruitment, approval of the March 2026 police officer certified list, and staffing reports. All agenda items were approved unanimously.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Motion Summary (December 3, 2025): Approved unanimously after a correction noted a hyphenation error in a commissioner's name. Roll call: Commissioner Hollingshead Mansell (yes), Vice Chair Hurley (yes), Chair Santos (yes).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were offered. One audience member was present but declined to speak. No emails, letters, or petitions were received.

Discussion Items

  • 2026 Firefighter Recruitment Process Update: Fire Chief Pyle and Human Resources representative Whitney Faust presented proposed changes to the recruitment process. Key adjustments include:
    • Application-first model: Previously, candidates submitted written exam scores before applying, leading to disengaged candidates. Under the new process, candidates will apply first, then be invited to take the exam, ensuring interest in Delaware.
    • Order of steps corrected: The physical agility test and background self-report were historically done out of order. The new process moves the background self-report before the physical agility test, allowing early disqualification of unfit candidates and saving resources.
    • Chief Pyle noted that of the top 30 candidates pulled for the current cycle, only 20 remain; the changes aim to improve engagement and yield.
  • Approval of March 2026 Police Officer Certified List: Chief Moore reported that physical agility tests were held on February 14, 2026, and interviews on February 19, 2026. Six candidates passed the interview and are recommended for addition to the list. Six candidates were removed (hired, disqualified, etc.), resulting in a net of 18 viable candidates. The department has six current openings, with four officers already in the academy. Three additional positions were created via the 2026 operating budget, raising authorized strength to 63. Chief Moore praised the monthly hiring refresh process for maintaining candidate engagement.

Key Outcomes

  • Firefighter Recruitment Process Update: Approved unanimously (roll call: yes from all three commissioners).
  • Police Officer Certified List (March 2026): Approved unanimously (roll call: yes from all three commissioners).

Staff Comments

  • Fire Chief Pyle reported the fire department was fully staffed at the end of 2025 but has 10 additional authorized positions for 2026 due to the budget and the planned Station 5 (expected online between April and July 2027). Three additional lieutenant promotions are planned for late 2026.
  • Police Chief Moore noted anticipated retirements: at least one officer has announced intention to retire; several officers are in the deferred retirement option plan (DROP) and could retire at any time. Nationally, many officers hired in the 1990s under the COPS grant are now retirement-eligible.

Commissioner Comments

  • Commissioners thanked the chiefs for hosting swearing-in ceremonies, noting the positive community engagement and family involvement.
  • A commissioner highlighted the January 2026 Fire Department report posted on the city's website, commending its statistics and suggesting better promotion to residents.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. It's 3 30, and I will call the um March 4th meeting of the Civil Service Commission to order. Sarah, would you please call the roll? Miss Hollyhan Hollingshead Mansell. Here. Vice Chair Hurley? Here. Chair Santos. Here. Um would you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? I plug the Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Um, would you please read in item three on the agenda? Approval of the motion summary of the civil service commission meeting held on December 3rd, 2025, as recorded and transcribed. Thank you. You should have received those minutes via email from uh Sarah when you got your packet. Are there does the commission have any questions or comments regarding the minutes as recorded? Uh I do have one comment. Um second to last paragraph. My name is hyphenated. It is not hyphenated. Um just inconsistent throughout. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Any other comments or questions regarding the minutes? Hearing none, I would call for a motion to approve. So moved. Sir second. I second. Thank you, Sarah. Would you please call the roll? Miss Holly and Mansell. Yes. Vice Chair Hurley. Yes. Chair Santos. Yes. Thank you. We have one person in the audience. Do you have anything you would like to comment on? Um, Sarah, did we receive any emails, letters, or petitions? No, ma'am. Thank you very much. Item five A. Sarah, would you please read that into the record? 2026 firefighter recruitment process update. Thank you.

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