City of Laredo

City of Laredo

Civil Service Workshop

M2005-W-01

City Council Chambers

1110 Houston Street

Laredo, Texas 78040

April 11, 2005

I. Call to Order

With a quorum present, Mayor Elizabeth G. Flores called the meeting to order.

II. Roll Call

In attendance:

Alfredo Agredano, Council Member, District I

Hector Garcia, Council Member, District II

John C. Galo, Council Member, District III

Johnny Amaya, Mayor Pro Tem, District IV

Johnny Rendon Council Member, District V

Gene Belmares, Council Member, District VI

Jose A. Valdez, Jr., Council Member, District VII

Juan Ramirez, Council Member, District VIII

Donna Magnon, Deputy Secretary IV

Cynthia Collazo, Deputy City Manager

Jaime Flores, City Attorney

Motion to excuse Mayor Elizabeth Flores.

Moved: Cm. Agredano

Second: Cm. Galo

For: 6 Against: 0 Abstain: 0

Cm. Garcia arrived at 5:42 p.m.

III. Presentation by Dan Migura, Administrative Services Director to update City Council

on the findings of the recent staff study on non-uniformed Civil Service Systems.

Dan Migura gave the following presentation:

Non-uniformed Civil Service System

History

· September 7, 2004 – Laredo City Council received information and requests from interested groups to create a civil service system.

· January 6, 2005 – A summary and information report was given to City Council.

· February 22, 2005 – At a City Council meeting, during the communication segment, a presentation was made regarding Civil Service.

· March 7, 2005 – during a regular City Council meeting, after City Council discussed civil service, staff advised City Council that a Civil Service Workshop would be planned.

· April 7, 2005 – The agenda item to discuss creating a new Appeals and Grievance Committee was postponed for discussion at the upcoming Civil Service Workshop. The Workshop was scheduled for April 11, 2005.

Objectives

· How is a Civil Service System incorporated in a municipality?

· What is a Civil Service system?

· How does a Civil Service system compare to the City’s current personnel system?

o Explanation of City’s current personnel system

o Study of other cities with civil service systems

o Feasibility of a civil service system for City of Laredo employees

· What are the advantages and disadvantages of Civil Service System?

· How does our current Appeals and Grievance Committee operate and how effective has it been for employees?

Purpose

· Clarify Civil Service Systems

· Understand City’s current personnel system

· Compare other cities

· Determine feasibility of a Civil Service System for City of Laredo employees

How is a civil service system incorporated in a municipality?

Adoption of a Civil Service System by the City of Laredo.

· Step 1. Charter Amendment – Amend the City Charter by adopting a civil service system and creating a civil service commission and modifying or deleting those charter provisions that could potentially conflict with a civil service system.

o Process to amend the City Charter – Any proposed charter amendment must be submitted to the municipality’s qualified voters for their approval at an election. (See City Charter, Section 12.05, which adopts Section 9.004 of the Texas Government Code). The election could be governed by the Texas Election Code.

· Step 2. Passage of an Ordinance. After approved by a majority of the electorate, the city must pass an ordinance which will contain all related civil service regulations.

What is a Civil Service system?

Definition

· The civil service system relegates the HR function to a board or commission with comprehensive, policy-making, administrative, and appellate powers. The commission members are appointed or elected independently of the chief executive of the jurisdiction. The authority for local civil service systems may be contained in the state constitution or enacted as a state law. In states where cities and counties have “home rule,” the authority may be a local charter adopted by popular vote, a resolution by the governing body, or local ordinance. In this type of system the commission typically has authority over a majority of employees, the HR director, and department directors.

Buford, Jr., J. A. & Lindner, J. R. (Eds.) (2002). Human Resource Management in Local Government. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-western.

Authority

· Counties in State of Texas – Local Government Code (Chapter 158)

o 200,000 or greater population

o Voter Approval

· Home Rule Cities

o Charter

o 6 Cities: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Corpus Christi, and Amarillo

Structure

· Civil Service Commission

o 3 – 9 Members (citizens)

o Appointed by City Council, City Commission, or Mayor

o 2 – 3 year terms

o Paid/unpaid

o Subpoena

o Trial Boards

o HR Director and Department Director oversight

Final Authority

· City Manager

· Civil Service Commission

· Administrative Judge

Rules

· Employment and Recruitment

o Exams (Oral, Written, Physical tests, demonstrations of skills, evaluation of training and experience as recorded in their applications or any combination);

o Eligibility/Promotional Lists (12 – 18 months)

o Certification of top three applicants/employees

· Appeals and Grievances

o Commission hears appeals and grievances of applicants/employees

o Commission has final authority to uphold, modify, or reject action of HR Director, Department Director, and/or City Manager

o Commission can subpoena individuals or information

o Commission can meet as needed or at recurring scheduled meeting times

o Commission can meet in pen or closed session

· Disciplinary Action

o Directors are required to submit written justification to commission for all adverse action taken

o Employees may appeal or commission may hold a review hearing on adverse action

o Commission has final authority

· Policies and Procedures

o Are created and implemented by commission subject to Council approval\

o HR Director is required to submit policy and procedure action to Commission for review and approval

How does a Civil Service system compare to the City’s current personnel system?

Texas Cities Civil Service

1. El Paso Yes

2. San Antonio Yes

3. Corpus Christi Yes

4. Amarillo Yes

5. Houston Yes

6. Dallas Yes

7. Austin No

8. Weslaco No

9. McAllen No

10. Harlingen No

11. Brownsville No

12. Waco No

13. San Angelo No

14. Port Arthur No

15. Wichita Falls No

16. Abilene No

17. Odessa No

18. Garland No

19. Arlington No

20. Beaumont No

21. Bedford No

22. Midland No

23. Fort Worth No

24. Galveston No

25. Duncanville No

26. Plano No

27. Georgetown No

28. Cedar Park No

29. Lubbock No

30. Marshall No

	El Paso	San Antonio	Corpus	Amarillo	Dallas	Houston
Civil Service	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Population	650,000	1,144,646	288,100	173,627	1,188,580	4,381,975
City employees	5,000	12,000	3,217	1,700	12,242	21,055
Committee	9	3	3	3	5	3
Appointed by	Council	Council	Council	Commissioners	Council	Mayor
Term of office	3 years	2 years	3 years	3 years	2 years	3 years
Compensation	No salary	$20 monthly	No salary	No salary	No salary	No salary
Meeting frequency	Twice/monthly	Twice/week	As needed	Once/month	Once/month	As needed
Final Authority regarding appeals	Civil Service Board	City Manager	Civil Service Board	City Manager	Trial Board/Administrative Law Judge	Civil Service Board
Type of meeting	Employee’s option	Open	Open	Closed	Open	Open
Testing	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
Eligibility List	Yes – 18 month	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Promotional List	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Disciplinary	Power to subpoena witness	City Manager	Grievances and disciplinary action by C. S. Board	City Manager	City Commissioners	Civil Service Commission
Policies and Procedures	Departments may create specific policies, H. R. Director will sets the time limits	Departments may create specific policies but H. R. Director must approve it.	Departments may create specific policies but H. R. Director must approve it.	H R Director writes policies and Department heads can create policies as long as they don’t override the city’s policies.	Departments can create specific policies as long as they don’t override the city’s policy.	Departments can create specific policies as long as they don’t override the city’s policy.

Civil Service System proposal as compared to the City of Laredo Personnel System

Proposal City

Excludes Department Directors, Assistant city Attorneys, Professional Non-Clerical Legal, Temporary Employees and Executives	Excludes Department Directors and Temporary employees
Limits executive employees to 2% of all employees	No limitations
Requires competitive and free examination as to fitness in regard to classified provision for a six month probation period	Requires applicants to meet minimum qualifications concerning knowledge, skills, and abilities, and a 12 month orientation period
Requires the Department Director to notify the Civil Service Commission of adverse employee action	Required the Department Director to review termination action with the Personnel Action Committee prior to taking action
Employee may request within 10 days an appeal of adverse action	Eligible employees may request within 10 days an appeal of adverse action to the Appeals and Grievance Committee
The final decision rests with the Civil Service Commission	The final decision rests with the City Manager after review of Appeals and Grievance Committee recommendation
All hearings are in Public	All hearings are in closed administrative meetings
The Department Director shall have burden to prove the charges made on the basis of the suspension by a preponderance of evidence	The employee and the Director both have the burden of proof before the Appeals and Grievance Committee
The right of the city employees to organize and join or refrain from joining an organization for the purpose of representation shall be recognized and protected by the City of Laredo	City employees have the right to organize and join an organization for the purpose of representation
The right of public employees to present grievances through a procedure to be established by the Civil Service Commission	Eligible employees can present grievances through a procedure established by ordinance
Hile in city uniform or at work was added to amend the City Charter Section 12.04 (a) (5)	No City employee
The proposed C. S. Charter amendment shall go into effect upon a majority vote of the qualified electors of the City of Laredo	The above provisions already exist under current Charter and Ordinances

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Civil Service system?

Advantage Disadvantages

Satisfies some special interest groups	May not represent the will of the employees
Works well with a Mayor form of government	Contradicts City Council/City Manager form of government
Promotes fairness and removes excessive political interference from H R activities	Hinders HR and operation efficiency
Sets up rigid guidelines for HR related activities	Promotes bureaucratic inflexibility
Allows a public forum to discuss personal employment matters	Exposes personal and sometimes sensitive employment issues to the public
Provides for politically appointed positions to govern City administrative matters	Allows for citizens to govern and rule on key employment related issues with limited internal knowledge
Reflects the will of the voting majority	May be in conflict with the current City Charter
Allows for citizen involvement in employee appeals and grievances	Difficult to schedule citizens in appeals and grievance matters
Empowers citizens authority	Diminishes Department Directors’ and City Manager’s authority
Encourages “for cause” termination	Erodes “Employment at Will” status and established due process for termination

How does our current Appeals and Grievance Committee operate and what are the results?

Appeals and Grievance Committee

Committee composed by five voting members

Serve two year terms
Mayor appointee acts as chair
CA & ASD Advisory

City Manager

Committee includes:

City Manager Appointee

Mayor Appointee

Employee Elected

City Attorney Non-Voting