Chief William E. Ridgway
Departmental Standards Directive
TITLE: PROMOTIONS OF SWORN PERSONNEL
CODIFIED: 4.16
CFA STANDARD: 15.01-15.04
DATE OF ISSUE: 02.24.12
EFFECTIVE DATE: 02.24.12
RESCINDS/
AMENDS: 06.22.05
PAGES: 6
PURPOSE
The purpose of this Directive is to establish guidelines for the promoting of sworn personnel of the
DeLand Police Department.
DISCUSSION
The position of trust and responsibility that supervisory personnel are placed in demands that the most qualified personnel are selected as supervisors for the DeLand Police Department.
POLICY
It shall be the policy of the DeLand Police Department that the promoting of sworn personnel shall be done without discrimination. The processes for promoting shall be administered in an equitable and uniform manner to ensure that a sense of fairness accompanies the process. This process will utilize a series of techniques that are job related and ensures that the whole of the candidate’s capabilities is analyzed. All facets of the promotional process shall be administered in accordance with department procedures and City of DeLand Personnel Guidelines.
4.16-1

PROCEDURE
PROMOTIONAL PROCESS FOR DEPUTY CHIEF
4.16.1
Appointments for the position of Deputy Chief shall be made by the Chief of Police.
PROMOTIONAL PROCESS FOR LIEUTENANT
4.16.2
Promotion of personnel to the rank of Lieutenant shall be governed by department procedures and City Personnel Guidelines.
4.16.3
The police department, in cooperation with the Human Resource Department, shall administer the testing process for the position of Lieutenant.
PROMOTIONAL PROCESS FOR SERGEANT
4.16.4
The promotional process for the position of Sergeant shall be governed by department procedures and City Personnel Guidelines.
4.16.5
The police department, in cooperation with the Human Resource Department, shall administer the testing process for the position of Sergeant.
OPEN POSITIONS
PROMOTIONAL PROCESS ANNOUNCEMENT
4.16.6
When an opening exists for a sergeant’s or lieutenant’s position, the Chief of Police shall post an announcement. The announcement will allow eligible candidates at least 10 days to submit letters of interest. Command staff will ensure that all prospective candidates meet the minimum requirements for the position prior to the testing process.
4.16.7
Once eligible candidates have been verified, a subsequent written announcement describing the testing process shall be posted at least 45 days prior to the process. The announcement shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

A description of position for which the vacancies exist;

A schedule of dates, times and locations of all elements of the process;

A description of the eligibility requirements;

A description of the process to be used in selecting members for the vacancies.

Each section of the promotional process must be successfully completed to be eligible for promotion. A minimum score of 70% is required for all testing phases.

Each phase will be scored individually; the scores from all phases will be added and then averaged to get the final score.
4.16-2

MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
4.16.8
For all promotional positions, the candidate is eligible for testing if the following time-inrank requirements are met as of the date testing starts.
4.16.9
For promotion to Police Sergeant:

A member must have a minimum of 3 years of continuous service with the DeLand Police
Department to be eligible for promotion to Sergeant.

A member must have received an average annual evaluation for the past two consecutive years.
4.16.10
For promotion to Police Lieutenant:

A member must have worked as a Sergeant with the DeLand Police Department for a period of 3 years.

A member must have received an average annual evaluation for the past two consecutive years.
4.16.11
For promotion to Deputy Chief:

Appointments for the position of Deputy Chief shall be made by the Chief of Police.
COLLEGE EDUCATION REQUIREMENT
4.16.12
It is the policy of the DeLand Police Department to encourage all if its officers to obtain a college degree. However, no degree is required for the rank of sergeant. Any person interested in testing for a lieutenant’s position must meet one of the following three criteria:



Have an AA/AS degree
Earned at least 60 credit hours
Be actively pursuing a college degree and have earned at least 30 credit hours
Actively pursuing shall be defined as a minimum of at least 6 credit hours being earned every calendar year.
Any person selected to the position of Deputy Chief must have a BA/BS Degree, or be actively pursuing their degree and have earned at least 60 credit hours.
4.16.13
If a candidate is promoted who is actively pursuing their degree, they will be required to sign a letter of commitment to continue with their formal education, by earning at least 6 credit hours per calendar year, until the minimum educational requirement is met. The Chief reserves the right to demote any person that fails to fulfill their commitment.
4.16-3

EDUCATIONAL / VETERAN’S PREFERENCE POINTS
4.16.14
Educational points will be awarded to those who possess a degree or a minimum number of credit hours, as described below, and who successfully complete all phases of the promotional process.
4.16.15
Educational Points will be awarded to all of the candidates as follows:

1 point for every 30 credit hours earned or;

2 points for an AA/AS Degree

4 points for a BA/BS Degree
4.16.16
Any officers who are in supervisory positions, prior to January 1, 2012, will not be required by policy to meet the above described educational requirements for the position that they already hold.
4.16.17
Veteran’s Preference points will be awarded to those members who qualify, per the City of DeLand’s Rules and Procedures, and who successfully complete all phases of the promotional process. At the end of the process 5 points shall be awarded to the candidate’s overall score.
REVIEW/APPEAL PROCESS
4.16.18
Candidates may challenge the wording, meaning, or possible scoring of any written exam questions by following the guidelines provided by the test administrator. The Test
Administrator will review all challenges and consult with the two Deputy Chiefs. Based on the totality of the circumstances, the majority of that group will determine the validity of the challenge. If it is agreed that there is merit to the challenge, the question will be credited to every candidate as being correct.
4.16.19
All members and employees participating in a Department promotional process shall be afforded an opportunity to review their individual component tests within 3 working days after the promotional process has been completed. Working days shall be defined as Monday thru
Friday. The review will be conducted by the test administrator. Any discrepancies identified that can be resolved by the test administrator shall be acted upon. If a discrepancy identified cannot be resolved by the test administrator, the candidate may prepare a written appeal in a format as directed below.
4.16-4

4.16.20
Appeals regarding eligibility, testing procedures, and or test results and or appointment decisions made from an eligibility list, shall be specifically documented via memorandum and forwarded by the candidate thru the Chain of Command, within 3 working days upon receipt or posting of the test results or process information. All appeals shall be directed to the test administrator for review. The test administer shall attempt to resolve the issue. If the issue cannot be resolved at that level, then the test administrator will prepare all of the information and present all facts and conclusions to the Command Staff for consideration and consensus. If the issue cannot be resolved at this level, the command staff will present the appeal to the Chief of
Police. The administrative review of the promotional process appeal and documented response shall be completed within (5) working days upon receipt of the appeal. The Chief of Police is the final authority regarding all promotional appeals.
ELIGIBILITY LISTS
4.16.21
Following the administration of the promotional process, a rank ordered Eligibility List shall be established by the Human Resources Department. The list shall be established by using the combined numerical score earned during all phases of the promotional process. All eligibility lists will be active for a period of 1 year from the date the list is established.
4.16.22
All candidates on the Eligibility List will be ranked in order by the Human Resource
Director, based on the candidate’s final numerical scores, to include any Educational and/or
Veterans’ Preference points that may have been awarded. That list will be provided to the Chief of Police. This list will include the candidate's name and final score.
4.16.23
For each vacancy that is to be filled, the Chief of Police shall select one (1) of the top three (3) candidates for the position from the Eligibility List. If there is more than one vacancy, after the first vacancy has been filled, the next highest candidate on the eligibility list will be added so that for each vacancy, there are always three eligible candidates, unless there are less than three names on the eligibility list. In the event a candidate with a higher score is passed over for a candidate with a lesser score on the eligibility list more than one (1) time, the Chief of
Police agrees to provide a written explanation to the employee(s) providing the reasons for being passed over a second time.
4.16.24
If an eligibility list has less than three qualified candidates, the city retains the option to advertise and administer a new promotional exam. If there is a lack of qualified and/or interested members, the Chief of Police may consider qualified applicants from outside the city for positions above the rank of sergeant.
4.16.25
The Chief of Police has sole authority to promote members of the agency. The Police
Chief’s decision to promote an individual may be influenced by a myriad of factors to include, but not limited to, the promotional process scores, education, experience, supervisory training,
4.16-5

performance evaluations, information in the candidate’s agency/personnel file, disciplinary and attendance records, and recommendations from supervisors and executive staff.
4.16.26
No discipline in a candidate’s file will be considered in the promotional process if it occurred more than 3 years prior to the promotional exam date.
DRAFTED: PCG-04/2003
REVISED: GRB---04/2005
REVISED: JFA—01/2008
REVISED: WER----02/2012
4.16-6