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Minority Recruitment Committee Meeting August 7, 1999 Page 3 Chief or Fire Chief, and from there they are interviewed by a committee at the Fire Department or the Police Department, which is composed of your Deputy Chiefs in the Fire Department and three Lieutenants in the Police Department. Mr. Haynes advised the Committee that the legislature has recently passed a law that will allow the City to give an entrance examination at another location, for example, away from Paris at the same time they are giving the one here in Paris, so we could go to a college, or another location and give the same examination. This law is going to be effective September 1, 1999. Mr. Haynes explained that before the entrance exam, letters are sent out in the minority community, to ministers, churches, citizens, and predominately minority colleges in the effort to recruit minorities to take the entrance exam. Advertisements are place in the Black Employment Journal, and advertisement is placed in the Paris News, on the radio stations, and on our cable TV. Mr. Haynes said they encourage minority Council Members to help in recruiting these candidates. Mr. Haynes said they go to high schools and speak to Criminal Justice classes. They have gone to career day at local schools giving talks about careers in the fire and police service. Mr. Haynes told the Committee that the last fire test was given in December of 1998, and these tests are normally good for one year. There were 101 people to take the test. When they signed up to take the test, study guides were passed out and three tutoring classes were held. One of those classes was held at the NAACP office. Mr. Haynes pointed out that only one black applicant took the test. Mr. Webb felt that one of the problems is money, because it is hard to convince a young person to stay in Paris. They can go to the Dallas area and make anywhere from 10 to 15 thousand dollars more a year. Mr. Webb said they were having the same problem at Paris Jr. College. Paris Jr. College has started a program "Grow Your Own ", because they had a problem hiring minorities. Mr. Webb said they give scholarship money in hopes that the students would come back, but there is no guarantee of that.