REPORT TO CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Request to Extend Eligible List for Firefighter I (Job Code 487) to November 17, 2027
Report
ACTION AND AUTHORITY
The Fire Department is requesting to extend the eligible list for Firefighter I (Job Code 487) pursuant to Civil Service Rule 4.3 (Duration of Lists) which provides that, “Eligible lists shall remain in force for a period of one (1) year. Eligible lists for sworn promotional positions in the police department shall remain in force for a period of two (2) years. The eligible list may be extended to two (2) years with the approval of the Commission. The eligible list for entry level Police Officers shall remain in force for six (6) months. The Director of Human Resources may abolish an eligible list if that list contains less than five (5) names.”
BACKGROUND
The eligible list for Firefighter I (Job Code 487) is scheduled to expire on November 17, 2026. The Fire Department is requesting approval for the Commission to extend the Firefighter I (Job Code 487) eligible list for one (1) year with a new expiration date of November 17, 2027.
DISCUSSION
The Fire Department is requesting an extension of the Firefighter I (Job Code 487) eligible list, with a new expiration date of November 17, 2027.
The Firefighter I examination process is the City’s largest recruitment process and involves multiple steps that can take months to complete. The current eligible list is competitive and given the time required to complete the recruitment, cost, and coordination with multiple stakeholders the City is requesting approval to extend the eligible list so it can continue to hire candidates for a spring academy.
The Firefighter I recruitment was launched in August 2025 and received one thousand seventy-one (1,071) applicants. In coordination with an external testing agency and the Santa Clara Convention Center, nine hundred and fifty (950) candidates were advanced to a written exam in September 2025, resulting ...
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