The City’s ballot measure, Charter Amendment JB, misstates the facts about the role and purpose of Civil Service.  The Civil Service carries out its work based on legal procedures as noted:

What Guides the Civil Service Commission:

The Civil Service Commission is rule-oriented and voted in by the citizens of Long Beach.

Legal Mandates and Policies followed by the Civil Service Commission

• Federal
  • Title VII –Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • Federal Selection Guidelines
• State
  • California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
• Local
  • City of Long Beach City Charter
  • Civil Service Rules and Regulations

Civil Service Rules and Regulations

Article I, Section 1. These Rules and Regulations are prescribed for the purpose of carrying out the mandates of Article XI of the Charter of the City of Long Beach, to assure City employees of fair and impartial treatment at all times, and, unless specifically stated otherwise, shall apply to all classified employees, classifications, positions, assignments, and the transactions which affect them. Pursuant to the City Charter, the Civil Service Commission may enforce and remedy violations of these Rules and Regulations.

Civil Service’s role is to:

• Recruit and certify qualified workers for positions with the city
• Send the names of qualified candidates to city departments for hire in their departments, inclusive of Police, Fire, and Public Works
• Protect employees from discriminatory practices by the hiring departments

 
The Civil Service does not:

• Have control over the speed of the hiring departments compliance with the 90-day hiring requirement.
• Hire employees for city positions (except for the small number of employees of the Civil Service Dept. itself) as noted.

 
Measure JB would have you believe that Civil Service is responsible for hiring city employees. With the exception of its own tiny staff, that is simply not true.

REMOVING CIVIL SERVICE:

• Eliminates employee safeguards and worker protection, more importantly, OVERSIGHT
• Gives the City Manager complete control over the hiring of city employees without oversight
• Allows for the hiring of campaign donors, friends and relatives who do not have the training or experience for city jobs
• Removes ALL checks and balances from the hiring process

 
Is this what Long Beach Residents want?