The Austin City Council will officially offer Rochester firefighter James McCoy a job as Austin’s next fire chief.

The Council voted to accept the Fire Civil Service Commission’s recommendation 5-1, with Council Member Steve King dissenting and Council Member Jeremy Carolan abstaining due to conflict of interest, at the council’s public meeting Monday night.

All commission members agreed McCoy was the better choice over Austin fire commander Terry Petersen and third candidate Joshua Anderson. After reviewing applications, commission member Paul Spyhalski said two weeks ago the choice in effect boiled down to Petersen and McCoy.

Yet when it came down to weighted scores between the candidates — each applicant had to pass a variety of exams, from an agility test to an oral interview and written exam — McCoy scored higher than Petersen, which commission members attribute to McCoy’s extensive training and experience.

“His scores on everything overall was higher,” Spyhalski told the council during a Nov. 5 work session. “His training was there.”

Yet King told the council two weeks ago, and again Monday, that the city should hire Petersen in order to promote from within, especially as Petersen has worked with the Austin Fire Department for more than 20 years.

“I see a qualified applicant in Terry Petersen who would have been my recommendation,” King told the council Monday. “I’m going to welcome the new chief with open arms, but we had a local candidate, who’s qualified, been here since 1992.”

Mayor Tom Stiehm said he had hoped the council would have hired from within the department while the process was going on, but after speaking with McCoy has confidence in his ability to lead Austin’s firefighters.

“I’m excited to welcome him,” Stiehm said. “We haven’t had a fire chief in about four months.”

The council’s vote Monday was to formally offer McCoy the job; McCoy has yet to signal he would accept though he has spoken with city officials about the position, according to Stiehm.

City Administrator Jim Hurm said the city would offer McCoy the job Tuesday and he has no reason to believe McCoy wouldn’t take it. Once McCoy accepts, the city and McCoy will figure out when he will start as Austin Fire Chief.

McCoy replaces former chief Mickey Healey, who signed on with the department in 2011 and left earlier this year to take a position in Texas.