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City of Dubuque Fire Chief RecommendationCopyrighted May 2, 2022 City of Dubuque Action Items # 01. City Council Meeting ITEM TITLE: City of Dubuque Fire Chief Recommendation SUMMARY: City Manager recommending appointment of Naperville, Illinois Assistant Fire Chief Amy Scheller as the new City of Dubuque Fire Chief. SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve DISPOSITION: FIN ik[O]:ILyil21zk&] Description Type City of Dubuque Fire Chief Recommendation-MVM City Manager Memo Memo Staff Memo List of Panelists Supporting Documentation Resume Staff Memo Supporting Documentation Supporting Documentation Supporting Documentation THE CITY DUOF B TEE Masterpiece on the Mississippi TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: City of Dubuque Fire Chief Recommendation DATE: April 28, 2022 Dubuque All -America City IN 2007.2012.2013 2017*2019 Upon the retirement of Fire Chief Rick Steines in 2022, Assistant Fire Chief Cal Motsch was appointed Interim Fire Chief. I want to thank Cal for accepting this special responsibility and serving in this position so well. With the appointment of a permanent Fire Chief, Cal will return to his previous rank of Assistant Fire Chief. After Rick's retirement, the city hired a national search firm, GovHR USA to assist city staff with doing a national search for a new Fire Chief. GovHR USA conducted an engagement process to solicit input from different community stakeholders to develop a profile for the type of candidates that would be sought for the position. GovHR USA then conducted a national search process and then did a thorough screening process of applicants to identify viable candidates that met the search criteria. As required by state law, a list of eligible candidates was certified by the City of Dubuque Civil Service Commission. Four finalists were selected for interview, two external candidates and two internal candidates. Twenty-three individuals agreed to participate in four separate interview panels, including a Community Stakeholder panel, a Fire Department Employee panel, a Leadership Team panel, and an Executive/Core panel. To kick off each day of the interviews the candidate for that day made a presentation: "What do you consider to be the top three issues that need to be addressed in the Fire Department profession currently, and how would you address those in Dubuque?". At the completion of the 4 interviews interview panelists submitted to me their rankings of the candidates. Amy Scheller has 30 years of firefighter and paramedic experience. She has been a member of the Naperville Fire Department serving the city of 150,000 residents since 1998. The department consists of 184 firefighters and 17 administrative staff with 10 fire stations covering a 50 square -mile area. She has worked her way up through the organization, supervising and managing all areas of the fire department operations and administrative divisions. Amy has been the department's deputy chief of administrative and strategic planning since 2019 and reports directly to the fire chief and supervises the department's division chief of operations, division chief of emergency medical services, division chief of training, division chief of support services, and the department emergency operations manager. Amy previously served as the department's division chief of operations (2016-2019), bureau chief for support services (2015-2016), bureau chief for emergency medical services (2014-2015), lieutenant (2010-2014), acting fire lieutenant (2008-2010), and firefighter/paramedic (1998-2010). She was a member of the Montgomery, III., Fire Department from 1992-2001 where she began as a paid -on -call firefighter/paramedic. Amy's management experience includes strategic planning, standard of response coverage, annual reporting, incident management, emergency operations, grant writing and management, payroll, budget and capital improvement planning, vehicle services, dispatch liaison, labor negotiations, policy development, mentoring, and succession planning. Amy is a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program and holds a master's degree in public safety administration from Lewis University and a bachelor's degree in education from Aurora University. She is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, through which she attained the Executive Chief Officer and Chief Fire Officer status, and the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association. She achieved the Chief Fire Officer designation and Fire Officer designation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. It is with great enthusiasm that I respectfully recommend to the Mayor and City Council the appointment of Naperville, Illinois Assistant Fire Chief Amy Scheller as the new City of Dubuque Fire Chief. Amy will not only provide tremendous leadership for the Fire Department, but the city organization and the community as well. Micha I C. Van Milligen MCVM:sv Attachment cc: Amy Scheller Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager Shelley Stickfort, Director of Human Resources Anderson Sainci, Director Office of Shared Prosperity and Neighborhood Support Mary Rose Corrigan, Public Health Specialist Randy Gehl, Public Information Officer Kecia Dougherty, Human Resources Strategic Workforce Equity Coordinator Stephanie Valentine, Executive Assistant to the City Manager Anne Schreyer, Secretary 3 THE CITY OF DUBQE Masterpiece an the Mississippi Dubuque AI•A�eriaGh �I1C.wu Cfvl(:IF 'LF 2007-2012.2013 2017*2019 TO: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Shelley M. Stickfort, Director of Human Resources DATE: April 28, 2022 RE: City of Dubuque Fire Chief Recruitment Process BACKGROUND Spring 2021, former Fire Chief Rick Steines provided notice to the City of Dubuque of his intent to retire from that position in the Spring of 2022. Steines submitted his formal notice of retirement effective Thursday, March 31, 2022. Summer 2021 - It was decided that the City would retain a national search firm to conduct the search for a new Fire Chief to replace Steines. December 2021 — GovHR USA, who won the bid for the Police Chief search in October 2021, was retained to conduct the Fire Chief search. The City of Dubuque wanted to engage the services of an experienced executive recruitment firm to assist in conducting a nationwide search for the organization's Fire Chief. The firm demonstrated success in identifying executives for organizations of similar size and scope and had experience in conducting recruitments for Fire Chiefs. The recruitment firm worked in conjunction with the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Director of Human Resources, and the Talent Acquisition Coordinator to develop a recruitment strategy and timeline; conduct a nationwide search through appropriate advertising, outreach and other connections; conduct background screenings, resume reviews and reference checks of potential candidates; recommend candidates and assist with interviews; and assist in negotiations and job offer to the most qualified candidate. March 20, 2022 — Assistant Fire Chief Calvin Motsch was appointed Interim Fire Chief. PROCESS An initial meeting with GovHR's team was held on Monday, January 7, 2022, that included T.E. (Tim) Sashko, Vice President, GovHR USA, LLC and Lee McCann, President, GovHR USA, LLC. The recruitment would occur in five phases. Phase I: Position Assessment, Position Announcement and Brochure Page 1 of 4 • One-on-one or group interviews were conducted with stakeholders identified by the City to develop the Recruitment Brochure. • Dedicated email and surveys were done to obtain feedback from stakeholder groups. • Position Announcement was developed and placed on websites and social media. • Recruitment Brochure created for City review and approval. • Agreement on a detailed Recruitment Timetable (a typical recruitment takes between 90 to 120 days from the time of signature of the contract to appointment of the finalist candidate.) External and Internal "Stakeholder" groups and individuals were identified, sent requests to assist with the process, and those agreeing to participate were provided to the GovHR team for surveying. These groups included: 1. The Fire Department Staff 2. Identified Community Stakeholders Group Phase II: Advertising, Candidate Recruitment and Outreach GovHR made extensive use of social media as well as traditional outreach methods to ensure a diverse and highly qualified pool of candidates, and developed a database customized to our recruitment and did an email blast to thousands of potential candidates. Phase II included the following: GovHR consultants: • Personally identified and contacted potential candidates. Developed a database of potential candidates from across the country unique to the position and to the City, focusing on: Leadership and management skills Size of organization Experience in addressing challenges and opportunities also outlined in Phase 1 surveys Placed the Position Announcement in appropriate professional online publications, Public sector publications & websites and Social media: LinkedIn (over 15,000 connections) - Facebook • Twitter • Instagram Phase III: Candidate Evaluation and Screening by GovHR consultants Included the following steps: Review and evaluation of candidates' credentials considering the criteria outlined in the Recruitment Brochure Candidates narrowed down to those candidates that meet the qualification criteria Candidate evaluation process: Completion of a questionnaire explaining prior work experience Page 2 of 4 Live Video Interview (45 minutes to 1 hour) conducted by consultant with narrowed pool. References (at least 2 references per candidate will be contacted at this time) Internet/Social Media search conducted on each finalist candidate All resumes acknowledged and inquiries from candidates will be personally handled by GovHR, ensuring that the City's process is professional and well regarded by all who participate. Leadership skills -based questionnaires (10 essay type questions) were given to all persons who applied as part of Civil Service process/examination. There were 14 total applicants. 14 were scored Pass/Fail. Pass was pre -determined to be a score of 70 or higher. 10 passed and were certified by the Civil Service Commission on March 29, 2022. The City Council voted to accept the Civil Service certified list on Monday, April 4, 2022. Phase IV: Presentation of Recommended Candidates Phase IV included the following steps: GovHR prepared a Recruitment Report presenting the credentials of those candidates most qualified for the position. GovHR provided an electronic recruitment portfolio which contained the candidates' materials along with a "mini" resume for each candidate so that each candidate's credentials were presented in a uniform way. The City received a log of all applicants and may review resumes if requested. Report arrived in advance of the Recruitment Report Presentation. GovHR spent approximately 2 hours with the City's selection committee reviewing the recruitment report and providing additional information on the candidates. Pool narrowed to four finalists. Phase V: Interviewing Process & Background Screening Phase V included the following steps: GovHR: Offered proposed interview question lists that the City used to develop interview questions sets for each of the four panels. The City assured the DEI related questions were at least 20% of each interview question sets. Provided the City with an electronic file that includes: o Candidates' credentials o Evaluation sheets to assist interviewers in assessing the candidate's skills and abilities o Background screening* was conducted along with additional references contacted: *Per state and federal regulations Page 3 of 4 o The first round written questionnaires included ten candidates. The second round of interviews included five candidates. Four finalists were scheduled for interviews on 4/ 18/22 — 4/22/22. All interview panelists were provided the PowerPoint presentation on "Interviewing with Confidence." Final four candidates' interview and presentation day included: 1. Presentation on the top 3 Three Issues for Fire Service (Certain panelists were invited to attend) 2. Executive/Core Panel Interview 3. Lunch/Meal with executive group 4. Leadership Team Panel Interview 5. Fire Department Staff Panel Interview 6. Community Stakeholder Panel Interview 7. Community Tour Individually, each panel participant was asked to provide electronically or by phone call to the City Manager their ranking order of the four finalists by late afternoon on 4/22/22. Friday, April 22, 2022, the executive/core team met to provide input into the selection of a final candidate. City Manager recommended Amanda (Amy) Scheller is offered the Fire Chief position. Contingent offer letter was drafted and emailed to Scheller on 4/22/22. Scheller accepted the position offer on 4/24/22. Other Documents: List of Interview Panel Participants Interviewing with Confidence training PowerPoint Page 4 of 4 THE CITY OF DUB E Masterpiece on the Mississippi TO: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager DATE: April 28, 2022 RE: Fire Chief Interview Panelists The following individuals participated in Fire Chief interviews: Executive Core Team: Mike Van Milligen Cori Burbach Shelley Stickfort Anderson Sainci Crenna Brumwell Mary Rose Corrigan City of Dubuque Leadership Team: Kecia Dougherty Ryan Knuckey Mark Murphy Heather Satterly Alexis Steger Shante Weston Fire Staff: Cal Motsch Chuck Blasen Jesse Coulson Susanna Duggan Elizabeth Healy Josh Knepper Jeff Pregler Arnie Wilson Community Panel: Yindra Dixon Sarah Schneider Ryan Sempf Dubuque MI-Ameft City 2007-2012.2013 2017*2019 City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition Interviewing with Confides Shelley Stickfort, Human Resources Director IF Effective hiring involves predicting the performance of people you don't know or believe you already know everything about them City of Dubuque Human Resources - Talent Acquisition 1 2 Unlawful • Gender • Sexual Orientation or Sexual Identity • Genetic Information • Race • Color • National Origin • Religion • Age • Disability • Convictions • Status in Military • Marital or Parental Status f legal Int view ues ns City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 3 Types of Interview Questions • Behavioral • Situational • Rapport Building • Open-ended • Closed • Contrary evidence City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 14 Behavioral interviewing The single best predictor of future behavior is past relevant behavior! Ask for specific examples which show what the candidate has done in the past and what they would do r in the future. City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 15 Behavioral Based Interviewing —Why Beneficial? • A person's past performance is best predicator of future relevant behavior. • A person's motivations, thought process, decision making process, assessment of situations, problem - solving skills, analytical skills and action taken can be assessed in their responses • Application of prior experience to future job -related situations City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 6 ASK BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS "Tell me about a time when.. @"-' you demonstrated the job criteria we're interested in. City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 18 Interview Question Set will be Provided How to Start the Questions • Tell me about a time when you exhibited ...... • Give me an example of a time when you had to.... • Describe a situation in which.... • Describe a time when you had a particularly difficult situation with a customer and what you did to handle that • Tell me about a work situation where you had to..... and what you did to do that • Have you ever had to....? Tell me about ... and how you handled it • Let's say you encounter the following situation.... how would you deal with it? Aim, City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 8 Interview Agenda • Greet candidate • Establish rapport • Introduce yourselves and what organization you represent • Explain agenda for the interview • Announce note -taking • Use interview question set as outline and starter set. Probe to clarify understanding, but steer clear of discriminatory or unlawful follow up questions. • Give candidate opportunity to ask Questions * Adopted from `Selection Process: Sample How To 's and Tools for Success " by HR Consultant Donna Angelico City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 19 Take Notes • Inform the candidate that you will take notes • Write down positives and negatives • Use key words and phrases to remember • Code key facts with * • After interview - evaluate behaviors • Make sure your conclusions have supporting examples City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 10 The Do's of Interviewing Do ask all candidates the same initial questions What questions can you ask in an interview? 1. Would I ask all candidates, who responded similarly, this follow-up question? 2. Is it relevant to the job they will be performing? 3. Does it have the effect of being discriminatory? City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 11 At the End of the Interview • Review notes to see if you need any more information • DO NOT provide feedback that could be interpreted as an implied promise of employment • Elicit questions and provide answers • Explain interview process next steps (e.g. interview with internal panel on Wednesday, 6/16) • Thank the candidate for interviewing City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 12 Evaluating objectively STAGE THREE: SELECTION City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 28 Evaluate Candidates • Understand selection criteria in advance (job description/summary/essential functions) • Complete assessment or rubrics while interview is fresh in mind • Assess candidate's responses in all selection areas • Compare to skill proficiency levels • Base conclusions on facts, examples and observations • Identify strengths and limitations in each area • Note areas of weakness or weak data for discussion • Complete ranking or rating forms as an individual and submit as directed * Adopted from "Selection Process: Sample How To' s and Tools for Success" by HR Consultant Donna Angelico City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 14 Staying Objective in Evaluating Candidates • Central tendency • Evaluator consistency • First impressions • Halo/Horn effect • Leniency/severity • Similar -to -me City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 15 Thank you City of Dubuque Human Resources Talent Acquisition 1 16 Amanda (Amy) Scheller 1710 Fox Mead Cr., Montgomery, II. 60538 * Schellersa@msn.com * 630-258-6300 EDUCATION Executive Fire Officer (EFO) National Fire Academy- Graduated 2019 Master's Degree in Public Safety Administration- Lewis University, Romeoville Illinois- Graduated 2014 Bachelor's degree Education- Aurora University, Aurora Illinois- Graduated in 1994 PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATION & CERTIFICATION Chief Fire Officer Designation 2017, 2020- Center for Public Safety Excellence Fire Officer Designation 2014, 2017, 2020- Center for Public Safety Excellence Executive Chief Officer Program graduate- IAFC August 2017 Chief Fire Officer Program graduate- IAFC August 2015 State of Illinois Paramedic- Current Department Infection Control Officer Fire Officer ll- Illinois State Fire Marshal Fire Investigator- Illinois State Fire Marshal Instructor II- Illinois State Fire Marshal Fire Department Incident Safety Officer- Illinois State Fire Marshall All Command Staff Level NIMS Training- ICS 100, 300,400, 700, 800 Region 3 IMAT Team Deputy- Command and control, Incident Safety Officer, Incident Command, Operations Section, Logistics Section Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, Ice Diver, Swiftwater Rescue Technician Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist Crisis Intervention Team Training (CIT certified) HONORS AND AWARDS NAM Community Partner of the Year Award- Public Safety CIT Program 2017 Naperville Exchange Club Firefighter of the Year 2011 Citizens Appreciate Public Safety (CAPS Award) 2019, 2017, 2009, 2007 Unit Performance Award 2007, 2003, 2000 Meritorious Service Award 2014, 2002 Life Saving Award 2014, 2012 City of Naperville Employee of the Month July 2010 West Aurora High School Athletic Hall of Fame 2009 Aurora University NCAA All -American Award- Softball 1992-1993 Aurora University Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee 2013 PUBLICATIONS Year 1 NFA EFO Applied Research- Community Driven Mental Health Response: A Public Safety Partnership Year 2 NFA EFO Applied Research -Developing a tiered response for non -life -threatening EMS mental health incidents within the City of Naperville Year 3 NFA EFO Applied Research- Strengthening Resiliency within the Naperville Fire Department (not published) ' A. Scheller pg. 1 reviewer for The Center for Public Safety Excellence- Chief Fire Officer and Fire Officer Designation. Board of Fire and Police Liaison, Fire Protection District Liaison- New hire process, promotional process, response contracts to fire protection district areas. PROFESSIONAL PROGRESSION Naperville, II Deputy Chief- Admin Strategic Planning March 2019-Present Naperville FD Division Chief -Operations Nov 2016-2019 Bureau Chief -Support Services 2015-2016 Bureau Chief- Emergency Medical Services 2014-2015 Lieutenant 2010-2014 Firefighter -Paramedic 1998-2010 Montgomery, ll. Fire Lieutenant- Training/ Recruitment 1997-2001 Montgomery FPD Fire Engineer 1995-1997 Paid on Call/ Volunteer Firefighter -Paramedic 1992-1995 DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW Naperville Fire Department is a municipal fire department providing fire, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and specialized response to approximately 150,000 residents. The response district includes approximately 50 square miles with service delivery from 10 fire stations. The department has 184 operational, 24/48-hour, shift employees supported by an administrative staff of 17. The department is an all -hazards response organization providing technical rescue, water rescue, swift water, ice diving, hazardous materials response, tactical EMS (TEMS), emergency management, fire, and advanced life support EMS/ transport. Crisis intervention team/ mental health EMS response and advanced cardiac arrest protocol response. Naperville is an original (Beta) nationally accredited fire department going on the 6' accreditation cycle and will attain its 30' year as an accredited organization in 2022. POSITION HIGHLIGHTS Deputy Chief (March 2019-Current)- Reports directly to the fire chief and supervises the departments Division Chief of Operations, Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services, Division Chief of Training, Division Chief of Support Services, and the Department Emergency Operations Manager. Oversee the administrative and strategic planning areas of the department. Acts as fire chief as needed, assumes command of major emergency incidents, oversees strategic planning, budget/ CIP development and management, vehicle purchasing, oversees all buildings and ground maintenance/ construction projects, organizes and manages department rules and regulations, contract negotiations, internal affairs, investigations, discipline, manages the information technology, telephone and radio systems, serves as the departments public information officer, liaison to the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, oversees the hiring and promotional process. Region 3 Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) Leader FD. A. Scheller pg. 3 EDUCATION Master's Degree in Public Safety Administration- Lewis University Graduate of the National Fire Academy- Executive Fire Officer Program Designated Chief Fire Officer (CFO, FO) Center for Public Safety Excellence EXPERIENCE Fire service professional with 25 years of well-rounded experience leading or supervising all major areas of fire department administration and operations divisions. 17 years operational experience as a firefighter/ paramedic, truck company lieutenant and engine company lieutenant. 8 years of experience in the administrative chief officer role. Currently supervise the Division Chiefs of Operation, EMS, Support Services Training, and the City of Naperville's Emergency Manager. LEADERSHIP/ MANAGEMENT STYLE *An innovative leader, committed to maintaining high service standards, data driven decision making, strategic planning and fostering a healthy, all-inclusive work environment. *Commitment to continual learning, leadership, and succession planning. Collaborative, community approach to fire and EMS service delivery. *Understands the importance of managing organizational behavior and cultivating a strong culture based on the core values of the city and department. IMMEDIATE IMPACT *Continue the identified recruitment programs for youth, continue to leverage community partnerships and provide hands on opportunities for youth. Review current feeder programs for recruitment and diversity opportunities. *A commitment to strengthening the culture of the department. Representing the City of Dubuque at the state and national level in diversity, equity, and inclusion. *Work towards visualization and transparency of data, create/ continue annual report. *Continuation of Accreditation (update of core documents, Strategic Plan, Community Risk Assessment, Standard of Cover). Transition from 9" edition to 10' and embed review processes into daily activities. *Proven grant experience- challenge grant opportunities for station and personnel needs (secured 2- one -million -dollar grants, a health and wellness grant for department physicals $140,000 and workout equipment grant for $40,000. Department just completed a regional Complex Coordinated Terrorism Attack (CCTA) grant through IEMA 3 year one - million -dollar grant. *Community involvement- active and visual representative throughout the community. *City collaboration- strengthen relationships and communication with other city departments.