The Civil Service Commission shall provide by rule for the ascertainment of merit and fitness as the basis for appointment and promotion in the service of the City as required by the Constitution of Ohio, and for appeals from the action of the Mayor in any case of transfer, reduction or removal. The action of the Commission on any such appeal shall be final except as otherwise provided by the laws of Ohio. In promulgating its rules as hereinabove authorized, the Commission, in the case of hiring and in the case of promotion (which shall be made from within the appropriate department), shall make necessary rules with regard to the form and manner of conducting competitive examinations; with regard to establishment and termination of eligibility lists; and, with regard to the process of selection and appointment of those certified, except that with regard to promotion within a department, the individual rated highest on the eligibility list for a particular position shall be certified to the Appointing Authority for appointment to fill a vacancy. Unless otherwise provided in this Charter, the Civil Service Commission shall determine which employees of the City shall be within the classified service and which shall be within the unclassified service. Civil service examination shall not be required for the appointment of any member of a board or commission, or any head of a department other than the Police Department or Fire Department, or any assistant to the Director of Law or to the Director of Finance, or any secretary to the Mayor or to the head of any department, or for appointment to any other office or position requiring peculiar and exceptional qualifications. The Civil Service Commission shall be the judge in determining such peculiar and exceptional qualifications. Any person who shall have served the City for at least one year next preceding the taking effect of this Charter may be retained in the same or any similar position without examination. Except as herein provided, the Civil Service Commission shall determine the practicability of competitive examinations for any nonelective office or job classification in the service of the City.
(Amended 11-5-02.)