CORTLAND — City officials are turning to an outside association to run upcoming fire chief and fire captain exams — a move fire officials said is designed to prevent interference and find the best candidates for the job.

Fire Chief David Rea, who plans to retire this summer, said at a recent council meeting that the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association will write and administer the exam, conduct the written test and oversee oral boards with out-of-area chiefs who do not know the candidates.

“The only thing the city has to do is pick the (testing) books, which I already did,” Rea said.

Candidates will be identified by number, not name, and scores will be returned to the city’s civil service commission, which will apply points required under civil service rules.

“There’s no ability for anyone to interfere in this on the city side,” Rea said.

Also at the meeting, council faced a procedural challenge tied to the recall of former mayor Deidre Petrosky.

Council has six members after former council vice president Jim Bradley was appointed mayor. His council seat has not yet been filled.

Council members discovered an error in meeting minutes from September 2025. To amend the official record, a quorum was required. However, three current members were not in office at the time of that meeting and abstained from voting. That left only three members eligible to vote, short of the four votes required for approval.

On the advice of the city’s attorney, council read the corrected information into the record, but the motion to amend the minutes failed due to lack of a quorum.

Also Wednesday, council:

• Heard an update from Bradley on the search for a new service director. The revised job posting has been advertised on the city’s website.

• Thanked Trumbull County Engineer David DeChristofaro for offering assistance when the city’s road salt supply dropped to near depletion before a recent storm.

• Approved an $11,085.40 contract with Alexander Pest Control for mosquito prevention spraying this year.