(A) Procedure for filling vacancies. The City Manager shall determine which, if any, vacancies in authorized positions are to be filled, taking into account all relevant factors, including budget constraints should they exist. The City Manager is empowered under the Charter to appoint all employees in the classified and unclassified service. The City Manager may delegate the responsibility for recruitment, testing, interviewing and all similar activities associated with the selection process to the Director of Human Resources and/or department head involved. All vacancies shall be filled by the appointment of probationary or temporary employees.
(B) Public announcements. These announcements may specify the title and salary range of the class for which an examination, if any, is to be held; the time, place and manner of making application; the closing date for the applications and other information deemed appropriate by the Director of Human Resources. Any entrance examination for a classified position, determined to be appropriate by the City Manager, shall be publicly announced by the Director of Human Resources.
(C) Application forms. Applications shall be made online using forms prescribed by the Director of Human Resources. Accommodations shall be made to applicants as required by law.
(D) Disqualification. The Director of Human Resources shall reject any applications which indicates on its face that the applicant does not possess the minimum qualifications required or which is not received within the time limit for filing for the position. Notice of such rejection may be given to the applicant and such rejection shall be final.
(E) Verification. The Director of Human Resources shall make suitable inquiry of employers, educational institutions, and character references given by the applicant to verify statements made in the application. If facts so ascertained indicate the applicant's unsuitability, the Director of Human Resources may reject the application and notify the applicant to that effect, and such rejection shall be final.
(F) Factors determining appointment. All appointments shall be made according to merit and fitness, to be ascertained, as far as practicable, by competitive examination. In determining the successful candidate for any position, due consideration shall also be given to such factors as education, training, experience, aptitude, knowledge, character, skills, abilities, references or any other factor which may enter into the determination of the relative fitness of the applicant.
(G) Probationary appointments. The probationary period shall begin immediately upon original or promotional appointment, lateral transfer, demotion, or reinstatement and shall continue for that time period specified in § 33.43(B). The purpose of the period is to provide an opportunity for the employee to demonstrate that the employee has the knowledge, skills, ability, work habits, and other attributes necessary to obtain regular employment status. An employee shall be retained beyond the end of the probationary period and granted regular status only if the performance of the employee has been found to be satisfactory and approval of the City Manager is obtained authorizing regular status. Under certain circumstances, the probationary period of an employee may be extended, but only for valid reasons, only upon approval of the City Manager, and then for only a specified period of time after which the procedures set forth above shall apply. The probationary period shall not be extended indefinitely.
(H) Temporary positions and appointments thereto. A temporary position is one which is established and approved by the City Manager and designated to be of a duration shorter than six months, if full time, and no longer than one year, if part time not to exceed 1,560 hours in that year. Sufficient funds must be provided in the budget to establish such a position. No employee may be retained in a temporary position longer than the times specified above, after which the employee shall be transferred to a permanent position in a probationary status or dismissed. Positions which are funded entirely or primarily by supplemental sources, such as grants or specialized programs, may be of duration longer than specified above, but shall still be regarded as temporary positions and cannot exceed 1,560 hours in a rolling 12-month period.
(I) Permanent positions. A permanent position shall be one which is established in the existing budget, funded by the city, and designated and designed to be continuous in nature. It may be seasonal or part-time, but permanent by it being established in the budget, designated permanent by the City Manager and filled by a permanent or probationary employee.
(J) Promotion procedure. All promotions shall be made by the City Manager in accord with the Charter and this code. When an employee is promoted to a higher paying job classification, that employee shall be on job probation in the new classification position for the period prescribed in the compensation plan. During this job probation the employee may be removed therefrom at any time that the employee demonstrates an inability to perform satisfactorily the requirements of the job as determined by supervisory personnel. If the employee is not performing at an acceptable level, the department head may recommend removal to the City Manager, who shall make the final determination. If removed from the higher paying job classification, the employee, at the City Manager's discretion, may be returned to an open position in the classification the employee occupied prior to promotion, if such a vacancy exists.
(K) Reclassification procedure. When a reclassification of a job classification occurs, as approved by City Council, where an incumbent currently exists and the incumbent is performing the duties and responsibilities of the reclassified position, that incumbent shall remain in place and be given an increase in pay when the job is reclassified to a higher pay band as defined in the compensation plan. In the event the job is approved for reclassification to a lower pay band, the incumbent employee shall remain in place at their current pay grade, but will not be eligible for pay increases until such time their current pay rate is below the "target" maximum of the lower pay band. The City Manager has the discretion to offer the incumbent employee the opportunity to transfer to another position in the city for which they are qualified that is equal to their current pay grade.
(L) Reorganization procedure. All reorganizations of the city or any department of division thereof shall be approved by City Council. These reorganizations shall generally be planned to coincide with the submission of the Annual Operating Budget so that any financial impacts may be addressed at that time. If the City Manager, however, deems the need for reorganization to occur outside the annual budgeting process, the following procedure shall apply:
(1) The City Manager shall, with the assistance of the Director of Finance and the Director of Human Resources, prepare a memorandum to City Council recommending approval of the reorganization which shall include:
(a) Justification for the reorganization;
(b) New job classifications being created;
(c) Current job classifications being reclassified due to the combination or separation of current duties and/or responsibilities;
(d) Increases or decreases to current numbers of funded positions by job classification as reflected in the current year's operating budget;
(e) Financial impact statement, articulating the effect on current and future operating budgets;
(f) Current and proposed organization charts.
(2) All new positions, other than the reclassification of an incumbent's position/job classification, resulting from a reorganization, be they current or newly created job classifications, shall be subject to a competitive selection process described in this Code and the City Charter except when an employee's current position is eliminated due to reorganization, the employee meets minimum qualifications for the new position, and there are no other qualified internal candidates for the new position. In such a case, the employee whose position was eliminated may, in the City Manager's sole discretion, be offered the new position. If other qualified internal candidates exist, the position will be posted for closed competition to internal candidates. If not selected for the new position, the displaced employee may be offered the position vacated by the employee who was selected for the new position provided the displaced employee is qualified for the newly vacant position.
(3) If an amendment to the Compensation Plan Ordinance or the current operating budget is not required by the reorganization, then the reorganization shall become effective 30 days after Council approval of the request for reorganization.
('80 Code, § 163.05) (Ord. 3-80, passed 1-7-80; Amendment effective 11-17-05)