Middletown civil service appointment process deficient

For Immediate release: December 22, 2009

A New York State Civil Service Commission review of the City of Middletown Civil Service Commission's administration of the appointment process has found the process generally not in compliance with the Civil Service Law and Rules.

The Middletown Commission has jurisdiction over a total of 651 employees-256 employed by the City, 388 by the School District, and seven by the Housing Authority. Of these, 324, or 49.8 percent, are in the competitive class and are selected by competitive examination. The State report found the Middletown Commission was inconsistent in maintaining lists of candidates who are eligible for appointments.

Where positions are not filled from a competitive list, the Middletown Commission frequently failed to determine that appointees at least met minimum qualifications for the job or made these determinations only after the appointments had already been made.

Based on a possible score of 100, the Middletown operation received a score of 24. The review covered the period from October 2005 to October 2008.

The report identified 13 specific improvements necessary to bring the Middletown appointments process into full compliance with Civil Service Law and Rules. The State Commission directed the Middletown Commission to submit a progress report and plan for complying with all recommendations by December 31.

The Civil Service Commission periodically conducts reviews of local jurisdictions to ensure that the merit system is administered in accordance with Civil Service Law and Rules. The reviews are submitted to and adopted by the State Civil Service Commission. These reviews assess practices in one or more of the following areas:

• adopting and enforcing rules regarding employment
• properly allocating positions to a jurisdictional class
• classifying positions
• conducting an examination program
• administration of the appointment process
• maintenance of required records
• reviewing and certifying payrolls

"The New York State Department of Civil Service is committed to ensuring that municipal civil service commissions are implementing the Civil Service Law and Rules in a credible, trustworthy, fair, and efficient manner," said Civil Service Commissioner Nancy G. Groenwegen. "We are dedicated to assisting jurisdictions in accomplishing this goal."

Review the complete report: Appointment Process Administration by the City of Middletown Civil Service Commission

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