FULTON COUNTY PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT
FORT JOHNSTOWN BUILDING
1 E. MONTGOMERY STREET
JOHNSTOWN, NEW YORK 12095
Phone: (518) 736-5574 * Fax: (518) 736-1027
announces a Civil Service examination
for the following:
No. 89437010 - Open Competitive
* * * EMERGENCY SERVICES DISPATCHER * * *
Fulton County Sheriff’s Department
LAST FILING DATE:
DECEMBER 18, 2024
EXAMINATION DATE:
FEBRUARY 8, 2025
A $12.50 PROCESSING FEE OR WAIVER OF THIS FEE MUST ACCOMPANY YOUR APPLICATION
FEE: There is a $12.50 non-refundable examination fee. When filing an application by mail, include a cashiers check or money order, payable to the Fulton County Treasurer. Do not send cash or a personal check. When filing in person with cash, the exact amount must be submitted. If the fee or fee waiver documentation proof does not accompany the application, the application will be rejected and returned to the applicant. There will be NO REFUNDS to applicants who fail to appear for the exam or fail to meet the minimum qualifications required for admittance to the exam, therefore, applicants are cautioned to review this announcement carefully.
WAIVER OF EXAMINATION FEE FOR UNEMPLOYED AND FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE RECIPIENTS: A waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household. In addition, a waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are determined eligible for Medicaid, or receiving Supplemental Security Income payments, or Public Assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/Family Assistance or Safety Net Assistance) or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a State or local social service agency. All claims for application fee waiver are subject to verification. If you can verify eligibility for application fee waiver, complete a “Request for Examination Application Fee Waiver and Certification” form and submit it with your application by the close of business on the Last Filing Date as listed on the Examination Announcement. (The Request for Examination Application Fee Waiver and Certification form can be obtained from the Fulton County Personnel Department, Fort Johnstown Building, 1 E. Montgomery Street, Johnstown, New York 12095, telephone number 518-736-5574.)
APPLICATIONS: Applications are available at the Fulton County Personnel Department or on the Fulton County website www.fultoncountyny.gov. Examination applications must be obtained and filed with the Fulton County Personnel Department. The Department recommends that you do not wait until the last day to file your application. When received in our office after 5:00 PM, on the last filing date, the application will be rejected and returned to the applicant. The correct examination number and title must appear on the application form. EVERY question on the application should be answered and complete in all aspects. Under “Duties” you must describe the nature of the work personally performed by you, with estimated percentages of time spent on each type of work. This department does not acknowledge receipt of applications or take responsibility for non-delivery or postal delay.
Failure to notify this office of a change of address may result in disqualification for examination or certification for appointment following examination.
Any application you may have previously filed will not gain you admittance to this exam and will not be used to obtain additional information. You must refile a separate Application for Examination during the official filing period as set forth in this announcement.
DISQUALIFICATION OF EXAMINATION APPLICATIONS:
When an application for an examination is disapproved by the Director of Personnel, the candidate will be given ten (10) calendar days to appeal this determination. Your appeal must clearly demonstrate that you meet or exceed the minimum qualifications as set forth on the examination announcement. Additional information must be pertinent, detailed and accurate. Your appeal must be in writing, addressed to the Personnel Department, 1 East Montgomery Street, Johnstown NY 12095, and received in this department no later than 5:00pm of the tenth calendar day. If the tenth calendar day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the candidate will have until 5:00pm that following Monday to submit their appeal.
LOCATION OF POSITIONS/VACANCY: This position exists in the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department.
PLEASE POST CONSPICUOUSLY AT A HEIGHT REACHABLE BY PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS
AND WITH OTHER MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS - REMOVE AFTER LAST FILING DATE
ELIGIBLE LIST: The eligible list will remain in existence for a period of one (1) year, unless extended by the Director of Personnel to a maximum of four (4) years. When a list has existed for more than one year, it may terminate upon the establishment of a new list. This list will be used to fill this vacancy and any other appropriate full-time or part-time competitive vacancy occurring in an agency under the jurisdiction of the Fulton County Director of Personnel, anytime during the life of the eligible list.
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS: May be made if you require a religious accommodation, are a disabled person, or deprived of participation on the scheduled date due to active military service. Specific information must be requested when filing your application.
APPLYING FOR CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS WHEN EXAMINATIONS ARE SCHEDULED ON SAME DATE: If you have applied for any other civil service examinations to be given on the same test date for employment with New York State or any other local government jurisdiction excluding New York City, you must make arrangements to take all the examinations at one test site.
If you have applied for both State and local government examinations, you must notify Fulton County of your intent to take both a State and a local government examination. When taking both a State and a local government examination you will be requirement to take all your examinations at a State examination center. You will be advised by letter when and where to report for your examination.
If you have applied to take a written test announced by either one or several local jurisdictions (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written test, you must notify each of the local jurisdictions no later than two weeks before the test date, so they can make arrangements for taking all tests at one site. All examinations for positions in State government will be held at a State examination center. For this examination call (518) 736-5574 or write to the Fulton County Personnel Department, Fort Johnstown Building, 1 E. Montgomery Street, Johnstown, New York 12095.
2025 SALARY RANGE: $20.98 - $24.68
RESIDENCY: Candidates must, at the time of examination and at least four (4) months prior thereto, be a resident of Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery or Saratoga County.
Preference in appointment from open-competitive lists may be given to candidates who have been residents of the locality in which appointment is to be made for four (4) months prior to the date of the written test. For appointment in some jurisdictions you may be required to become a resident thereof in accordance with law or resolution.
TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES (Illustrative but not exhaustive):
Answers, screens and processes incoming emergency and non-emergency calls from the general public and other public service providers;
Enters event information into the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system completely and accurately;
Facilitates caller with means for obtaining life saving instructions as needed;
Demonstrates the proper application of Sheriff's Department policies and procedures;
Utilizes knowledge of and demonstrates proper application of Civil and Criminal laws, ordinances, Vehicle and Traffic Laws and Fire Codes;
Gathers pertinent information from callers and documents this information in incident history;
Supplements existing incidents with additional information as received;
Maintains contact with the caller until units arrive on the scene during life threatening situations;
Classifies information gathered into proper CAD incident code;
Accesses the CAD and New York Statewide Police Information Network (NYSPIN) information files as needed;
Operates the CAD and NYSPIN terminal and keyboards;
Uses Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) agents and their associated features to answer, transfer or process emergency and non-emergency calls;
Develops knowledge and demonstrates proper application of all CAD features relating to call taking and dispatching;
Operates back systems telephone in the event of ACD system failure;
Enters incident information onto a hand written manual system for incident routing during manual operations;
Displays proper use of the street directory, telephone lists and other documents associated with manual operations;
Makes appropriate notifications to supervisors;
Refers callers to other agencies as appropriate;
Develops and utilizes good listening skills;
Provides information and direction to callers;
Maintains a good rapport with co-workers, supervisors and field forces;
Contributes to and participates in the team effort of training new personnel, cross training of veteran personnel and the continuing training of all personnel;
Performs related duties as assigned by supervisors.
The above examples of duties are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.
CANDIDATES PLEASE NOTE: It is vital that you submit, with your application, all information, including driver’s license (front and back), college transcripts, degrees, or diplomas, necessary to show your qualification for examination. APPLICATIONS WHICH DO NOT SHOW TRAINING AND/OR EXPERIENCE TO MEET MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS WILL BE DISAPPROVED, AND WE WILL NOT REFER TO OTHER APPLICATIONS ON FILE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must meet the following requirements on or before the last filing date: Graduation from high school, possession of a high school equivalency diploma, or a high school individual education plan diploma and either:
Completion of at least 12 semester credit hours in Criminal Justice, Emergency Medical Services Management, Fire Protection Technology, Computer Science, Computer Technology or closely related field; or
One year of paid experience as a public safety dispatcher; or
One year of paid clerical or customer service experience dealing directly with the public or customers which shall have involved the operation of a telephone and computer data entry; or
One year of paid or volunteer experience as an active member of an emergency services organization, i.e. firefighter in an organized fire department, emergency medical personnel for an ambulance service or closely related position. Volunteer experience shall be defined as actual time spent in training, or responding to emergency situations as a member of a department. Time claimed must be verified by submission of copies of official documents. (Fund-raising, parades, social or sporting events will not be credited.)
An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A), (B), (C) and (D) above.
Part-time experience will be pro-rated as follows:
16-23 hrs/wk….1/2 time 24-31 hrs/wk….3/4 time 32+ hrs/wk….full-time
If qualifying by A or E (education options), a copy or photocopy of your official academic transcript showing courses taken and degree conferred (if a degree is required) must accompany your application. If submitting a photocopy, this office must be able to verify it is an official transcript. Your transcript does not have to be submitted in a sealed envelope from the Registrar’s Office. If your transcript, as previously described, does not accompany your application, your application will be disqualified and you will be given ten (10) days to submit documentation to substantiate your qualifications. If you fail to provide a copy or photocopy of your official transcript within the ten (10) day period, you will not be allowed to participate in the examination
Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the NYS Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency from a member company of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc. (NACES). You can write to the Examination Information Desk of this Department for a list of NACES members who provide this service. You must pay the required evaluation fee.
THERE WILL BE TWO PARTS TO THIS EXAMINATION:
Part #1: A Written Examination - Administered on Saturday, February 8, 2025
Part #2: A Performance 911 Test - Administered by appointment at a later date
Candidates who receive a passing score on Part #1, the written portion of this exam, will later be sent an appointment to take the Performance 911 Test, Part #2, (See: “Subject of Performance 911 Test”) unless before the date of the written exam the candidate has applied and qualified for a waiver of the performance test. (See: “Waiver of Performance 911 Test” below.)
All approved candidates must participate in Part #1, the written portion of this exam. Only candidates who pass Part #1 will be admitted to Part #2, unless they have been granted a waiver. Only candidates who are successful on both parts of the exam will be entered on the Eligible List to be considered for appointment. Their names will be ranked on the eligible list by their final score on the written portion of the exam.
PART #1
SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: The written, multiple-choice test will be designed to measure knowledges, skills and/or abilities in the following areas:
CODING/DECODING INFORMATION: These questions test for the ability to follow a set of coding rules. Some questions will require you to code information by converting certain information into letters or numbers. Other questions will require you to decode information by determining if the information that has already been converted into letters or numbers is correct. Complete directions will be provided; no previous knowledge of or training in any coding system is required.
NAME AND NUMBER CHECKING: These questions test for the ability to distinguish between sets of words, letters, and/or numbers that are almost exactly alike. Material is usually presented in two or three columns, and you will have to determine how the entry in the first column compares with the entry in the second column and possibly the third. You will be instructed to mark your answers according to a designated code provided in the directions.
UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING WRITTEN MATERIAL: These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.
FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS (MAPS): These questions test your ability to follow physical/geographic directions using street maps or building maps. You will have to read and understand a set of directions and then use them on a simple map.
RETAINING AND COMPREHENDING SPOKEN INFORMATION FROM CALLS FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES: These questions test for your ability to retain specific information that is heard in calls for emergency service, such as a street address, or to comprehend spoken information from emergency service calls, such as determining the location of a site in relation to landmarks. Simulated 911 calls will be played via MP3 download. Immediately following each call, candidates are given audio instructions identifying which questions they are to answer within the test booklet. The questions that candidates are directed to answer for each simulated call will not be in sequential order. Candidates will need to retain and comprehend the information and instruction provided in this portion of the test to respond appropriately to the questions asked and to determine which questions to answer. The time allotted to answer these questions will be limited. At the end of each answer period, the MP3 download will automatically play the next call. Note paper will be provided. Candidates will be permitted to take notes and to refer to them when answering the questions.
The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates may find information in the publication “General Guide to Written Tests” helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available online at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm
PART #2
Candidates who pass Part #1 and have not been granted a waiver, will be given an opportunity to pass the Performance 911 test. This will be a qualifying test (There is no numeric score, you either pass or fail). The test will be administered on a conventional personal computer (PC). You will be using a conventional PC keyboard, but you will not be using a mouse.
Retest:
If a candidate fails the initial test, the candidate will be permitted one retest. An immediate retest will be offered to candidates who do not pass the initial performance test. Only one retest is allowed. The retest will be given on a different form than the one used for the initial test.
SUBJECTS OF PERFORMANCE 911 TEST: The test consists of three parts, each preceded by a separate practice session. It will test your ability to enter the kinds of information that dispatchers and related personnel must process for fire, police, and emergency medical services. You will not need any specific information prior to the test; rather, complete on-screen instructions will tell you all that you need to know to take the test. To pass, you must enter the data at a rate of at least 6,000 keystrokes per hour (which is equal to typing approximately 20 words per minute), with an accuracy rate of at least 97.5%.
WAIVER OF PERFORMANCE TESTS: Candidates may apply for a waiver of the 911 performance test, with the required proof, when applying for the written examination or anytime before the date of the written test, 2/8/25. Waiver requests and supporting documentation will not be accepted on or after the written exam date.
To qualify for a waiver candidates must have within four (4) years of the date of the written test:
Been successful on a comparable civil service performance test, corrected, administered by the NYS Department of Civil Service or a local civil service agency. Candidates must provide acceptable proof* or,
Must be or have been permanently employed in an agency in a title for which passing of comparable Civil Service performance test was required for appointment. Candidate must provide official documentation of such employment.
*Acceptable proof consists of, but is not limited to, a photocopy of the official notice of the results of a 911 performance test administered by the NYS Department of Civil Service or a local civil service agency.
CALCULATOR POLICY: Quiet, hand-held, solar or battery-powered calculators are ALLOWED.
Devices with typewriter keyboards, “Spell Checkers”, “Personal Digital Assistants”, “Address Books”, “Language Translators”, “Dictionaries”, or any similar devices are prohibited.
AT THE EXAM THE USE OF CELLULAR PHONES, BEEPERS, ETC. IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
VETERANS’ CREDITS: Veterans, Disabled Veterans, or candidates currently in the armed forces claiming the additional credit allowed veterans in competitive examination, must apply for such credit while filing their examination application or at any time between the date of the application but prior to the date of the establishment of the resulting eligible list. The time periods, for which veterans’ credit is permitted, are defined in Question 12 on the examination application. To receive additional veterans’ credit you must file a separate Veterans’ Credit Application including acceptable supporting documentation for each examination. Veterans’ Credit is added only to the score of the examination when the candidate’s passing grade is 70 or higher.
CHILDREN AND SIBLINGS OF FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY CREDIT: In conformance with sections 85-a and 85-b of the Civil Service Law, children and siblings of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent, sister or brother has served. If you are qualified to participate in this examination and are a child or sibling of a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has been established. Children and siblings of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty credit is added only to the score of the examination when the candidate's passing grade is 70 or higher.
RATING AND REVIEW: This written examination is being prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23.2 of the Civil Service Law and Section 7.1 of the State’s Civil Service Rules and Regulations.
NOTICE TO APPEAR: Approved applicants will receive a Notice to Appear for the written examination providing the location and time. Late arrivals will not be admitted into the exam room under any circumstance. Please contact this office if you have not received a notice to appear for the written examination by February 1, 2025.
ANY LAST-MINUTE CHANGE OR CANCELLATION WILL BE BROADCAST OVER RADIO STATION WENT (AM 1340) BETWEEN 6 AND 8 AM ON THE DATE OF THE EXAMINATION.
FULTON COUNTY DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, CREED, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, MARITAL STATUS, SEX, RELIGION, AGE OR DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISIONS OF SERVICES.
ISSUED: 11/20/24
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