By Mayor Carlo DeMaria
On Monday, January 27, at the Everett City Council meeting, Craig Hardy, President of the Local 143, objected to the process by which the successful candidate, Chief Anthony Carli, was promoted to Permanent Fire Chief of the Everett Fire Department.
Civil Service municipalities have the option of choosing to utilize a Sole Assessment Center instead of a Civil Service written examination for Police and Fire promotions. (https://www.mass.gov/service-details/sole-assessment-center-examination). The Administration opted to utilize this commonly used practice throughout most municipalities in Massachusetts.
The assessment was conducted by an independent 3rd party vendor who empaneled a team of independent assessors to evaluate the best candidate to lead the Everett Fire Department. The Assessment Center was posted and administered per the Civil Service rules. The successful candidate, Chief Anthony Carli, is a 20-year member of the Department and has served as Provisional Chief for the past 3.5 years. Chief Carli obtained the highest score out of the 4 candidates who sought the position. Carli received a score of 86. Absent the additional 0.66 points received for being Provisional Chief, Carli would still have the highest score by a margin of over 6 points.
When the union requested an investigation by the Civil Service Commission into the assessment, the Commission upheld the decision made by Mayor Carlo DeMaria.
Hardy’s objections to the appointment were based on a pending Department of Labor Relations case. The complaint alleges that the City did not bargain the use of an assessment center. However, the governing body for the hiring and promotion of a Civil Service Chief is the Civil Service Commission. The Department of Labor Relations does not have jurisdiction over Civil Service matters.
Additionally, Hardy contends that Chief Carli was the sole contact for the assessment center. This is patently false. The contact was the Human Resources Department.
The Civil Service Commission made a determination that “opening an investigation into matters raised by the petitioners [Local 143] here, is not warranted. The request for investigation was denied,” wrote Paul Stein, Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Civil Service Commission in the decision made on June 20, 2019.
As a result, Chief Carli’s promotion as Permanent Fire Chief is valid and legal.Carlo DeMaria is the Mayor of Everett