The Personnel Board shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) It shall represent the public interest in the improvement of personnel administration in the City service.
(b) It shall make annual or special reports to the City Council on the quality and status of personnel administration in the City government and shall make recommendations for improvements.
(c) It may do any lawful act or acts necessary to effect the purpose of this chapter and of the rules promulgated in accordance therewith.
(d) It shall sit as a body in investigating and hearing personal appeals of any appointing authority or any employee.
(e) It shall be responsible for preparing rules and regulations for carrying out the provisions of this chapter. It shall recommend such rules and regulations and amendments, additions and deletions to said rules and regulations to the City Council which at its discretion may approve them by resolution, provided the original rules and regulations must be in full force and effect within six months after this chapter goes into effect. The Council may make such amendments to said rules and regulations and to the amendments, additions and deletions to same as it deems to be desirable, provided it has referred all such proposed amendments to the Board for its opinion and advice. Notice of all changes in the rules proposed either by the Board or the Council must be given to all employees by means of departmental bulletin boards at least ten days before the Council is to act on them. The rules and regulations and amendments and additions thereto shall have the full force and effect of law and shall be drafted to promote the efficiency and good of the City service; to promote employee morale; and to provide for the use of scientific personnel methods and standards which will further these ends. Such rules and regulations shall provide for conducting, among others, the following phases of the personnel program.
(1) The preparation, installation and maintenance of a classification plan based on the duties, authority and responsibility of positions in the City classified service.
(2) The establishment of policies and practices governing permanent, provisional, temporary and emergency appointments to positions in the City classified service and promotions therein - including announcing examinations, receiving applications for employment, conducting examinations and other methods of measurement designed to assist in rating the relative qualifications of applicants, establishing and making public record of employment and reemployment lists containing the names of persons eligible for appointment, extending, cancelling and combining employment and reemployment lists, certifying the three highest persons to fill each vacancy and establishing probationary periods prior to giving new appointees classified service status.
(3) The establishment of policies and practices controlling personnel status changes affecting employees while in the City classified service, including the transfer of employees from one position to another either within the same department or to a different department, promoting employees from a position of a lower grade to one of a higher grade, and demoting employees from a position of a higher grade to one of a lower grade.
(4) The establishment of policies and practices governing the separation of employees from the City service which separation shall include voluntary separation, retirement, death, layoffs, suspensions and dismissals.
(5) The establishment of policies and practices governing the manner in which employees in the City classified service may appeal to the Personnel Board relative to any proceeding or situation having a bearing on his employment status or conditions of employment under the provisions of this chapter and the rules adopted hereunder.
(6) The establishment of policies and practices governing the use of personnel records and forms including roster cards showing the complete employment history of each classified employee, and other required personnel records. All such records and forms shall be deemed to be confidential and shall not be open to general public inspections, but may be examined by the appointing authority.
(f) The Board shall consider such other matters as may be referred to it by the Personnel Director or the City Council.
(g) It may upon his request act as advisor to the City Manager in the preparation of a salary and wage plan for positions in the City classified service together with regulations for the administration of such plan.