Editor's Note: This article corrects the name of the city's risk manager.

New London — The specter of a lawsuit led the city on Wednesday to withdraw conditional offers of employment to three future city firefighters who were expected to start training at the state fire academy next month.

Mayor Michael Passero said Risk Manager Paul Gills initially had raised concerns about the way the firefighter candidates were chosen.

A subsequent review of city hiring practices by attorneys with the city’s liability insurance carrier led to the conclusion that the hiring process violated the municipal merit system, Passero said.

The job offers extended to the three noncertified firefighter applicants, along with the hiring of three certified firefighters, came during the waning days of former Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio’s term in office.

Finizio in November had announced he was setting aside the “rule of three,” a traditional practice of choosing hires from among the top three applicants, in favor of diversifying the pool.

The last time the city hired a black firefighter was in 2011, the first since 1978.

Finizio had said his actions were allowed by existing personnel rules and also reaffirmed by a vote from the city’s personnel board.

Finizio had chosen a Latino, an African-American and a white applicant from an eligibility list of 21 noncertified candidates. Just one of the applicants came from the top three.

Passero, who retired as a firefighter before taking office, said the process was rushed and relied on outdated personnel rules that do not meet today’s legal standards.

While diversification is a needed and laudable goal for the city, Passero said the process should not exclude applicants simply based on race.

“We want the candidates that apply to the city to know they got a fair shake,” Passero said.

Dakwan Alger of New London, Diego Barboza of Hamden and Evan Giesing of New London had all attended a Dec. 3 ceremony with their families at City Hall where Finizio announced their upcoming entrance into the fire academy.

They were contacted Wednesday by Fire Chief Henry Kydd and Interim Chief Administrative Officer Steven Fields and Personnel Administrator Tina Collins.

Kydd called it a “tough day,” having to explain the situation but said the candidates were professional and took the news graciously. He said the applicants were in the situation through no fault of their own.

Passero said the city immediately will begin compiling a new eligibility list of noncertified firefighter candidates and start an open hiring process. Kydd said he expects all of the firefighters previously offered jobs to reapply.

Kydd said there are four vacancies at the department and the city needs to have an eligibility list on hand to fill positions and help curb overtime costs.

Passero said he is proud of the diversity in the community and committed to “all fundamentally fair and honest efforts to enhance diversity” in the fire department, police department and other city agencies.

He said his administration will make it a priority to reach out to school officials, clergy, community leaders and the faith community to “effectively introduce the diverse city residents to employment opportunities in all city agencies.”

Passero said that effort will include reaching out to youths to help pique their interest in serving at the fire department.

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @SmittyDay