Police Officer and Firefighter employment information

How to Apply

Applications must be made on an official application form, which may be obtained at the office of the Civil Service Department.  Applicants will be notified by mail of the time and place of the examination.  Qualified applicants with disabilities who require reasonable accommodation in order to take an examination must request and complete the Request For Accommodation Form and provide original documentation from a licensed physician or certified rehabilitation counselor verifying the need for accommodation.  Questions or comments concerning this requirement may be addressed in person with the examiner assigned to the examination for which the applicant is applying.  Notice:  The City of Livonia, in compliance with the federal Wagner-Peyser Act and the State of Michigan Employment Security Act, provides information to the Michigan Employment Security Commission (MESC) concerning individuals making application for employment and/or employed by the City of Livonia to facilitate the administration of any unemployment compensation or public employment service law.  By implied consent, individuals who submit an application for employment consideration, including but not limited to those who are hired, authorize the City to provide information in compliance with these laws. 

PRE-EMPLOYMENT PHYSICAL:

Applicants are required to pass a complete pre-employment medical examination including drug testing to be conducted by a physician authorized by the City of Livonia.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD:

For permanent employment, employees must be hired in a permanent position and must satisfactorily complete the original probationary period (a minimum of six (6) months) before the appointment will be considered permanent.

RESIDENT REQUIREMENT:

Newly enacted State Law Act No. 212 of the Public Acts of 1999 provides that a public employer shall not require, by collective bargaining agreement or otherwise, that a person reside within a specified geographic area, distance or travel time from his/her place of employment as a condition of employment or promotion.  The statute does not, however, prohibit the City from requiring that a person reside within 20 miles (or some greater distance) from the nearest boundary of the City unless the person is married and his/her spouse is employed by another public employer that, if not for the state law, would require such spouse to reside less than 20 miles from the nearest boundary of the public employer.

It should be kept in mind that the state law does not apply to volunteer or paid on-call firefighters, elected officials, or unpaid appointed officials. 

It also applies only to employment contracts entered into, renewed or renegotiated after the effective date of the act (i.e., March 10, 2000) due to the constitutional prohibition against impairment of contracts. 

Therefore, as each bargaining agreement is renewed or renegotiated, the City will thereafter be limited to requiring that employees reside within 20 miles (or some greater specified distance) subject to the exceptions noted in each respective contractual agreement.

VETERANS PREFERENCE: 

Honorably discharged war veterans who received passing grades on all parts of the examination will have five (5) points added to their final earned examination score, provided that they served in the Armed Forces of the United States between 12/7/41 and 12/31/46, or between 6/27/50 and 7/26/53, or between 8/6/64 and 5/5/75 for at least one hundred and eighty-one (181) consecutive days, or were issued a campaign badge for “Expeditionary Service” as specified in the Federal Civil Service Code, and provided that in each case the applicant shall submit documentary proof of his or her honorable discharge from the service in the Armed Forces at the time of application.

BENEFITS:

Permanent employment with the City of Livonia includes benefits as part of the total employee compensation package.  These benefits may vary for each employee depending on whether they are represented by a union and the terms of their contract.  Examples of the benefits available to all full-time general employees are itemized as follows:  paid vacations (10 to 23 working days per year, depending on length of service); holidays (average of 12-3/4 days per year); sick leave (one day per completed month of service with unlimited accumulation and 60% payment for accumulated sick leave (up to 100 days) upon termination after 10 or more years of service); personal business leave (2 days per year); group life insurance (see sample schedule of benefits below) and disability insurance (both fully paid for by the City); Blue Cross/Blue Shield Preferred Plan or alternate health maintenance organization hospitalization and medical benefits (Note:  employee monthly co-payments will be required in certain instances such as for new general employees hired after 12/1/94, and if HMO premiums are in excess of comparable BC/BS Preferred Plan monthly rates, and for all Permanent Part-time employees); annual longevity payments after five (5) years ($260.00), seven (7) years ($650.00), fourteen (14) years ($1,300.00) and twenty-one (21) years ($1,950.00) of service; and a City Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (with the employee paying approximately 3-1/2% and City paying 7%-9% of pension earnings) which includes continuation of hospitalization/medical coverage with retiree co-payment based upon completed years of service and limited life insurance benefits.  Part-time employees normally will receive half of the benefits described above; Life Insurance coverage is as follows:

Permanent Part-Time Employees - $7,500

General Employees:

Police/Fire: