City officials pitched a plan Monday (April 15) to change how promotions are doled out for New Orleans police and firefighters, placing less emphasis on formal test scores while creating a new selection group whose members are chosen by the city’s chief administrative office.
Critics, particularly among local union representatives, were quick to frame the proposed rule changes as a gateway for possible abuse, potentially allowing department heads to cherry-pick candidates rather than basing promotions on merit alone. Officials, including the city’s fire and police chiefs, sought to assure that would not be the case and promised to work with unions as the proposals undergo revisions in the coming months. Presented at a city Civil Service Commission meeting Monday (April 15), the proposed changes center on forming a “promotion committee” that ranks police and fire candidates seeking higher positions and sets the criteria on which those candidates are evaluated.