Newburgh civil service appointment process "generally compliant"
For Immediate release: December 22, 2009
A New York State Civil Service Commission review of the Newburgh Civil Service Commission's administration of the appointment process has found the process generally in compliance with the Civil Service Law and Rules.
Nevertheless, the review, which covered the period from September 2005 to September 2008, found "significant issues" in the way appointments are made that need to be corrected. The report noted the "lack of a productive working relationship" with the Newburgh School District and the Newburgh Housing Authority. At the time of the State Civil Service Commission staff review, documentation of School District appointments was either missing or had not been submitted as required before the appointment was made. No records for Housing Authority personnel were available for inspection on site.
Based on a possible score of 100, the Newburgh operation received a score of 46. The report identified 17 corrective actions that must be taken to bring the appointments process into full compliance Civil Service Law and the Newburgh Commission's own rules.
The State Civil Service Commission periodically directs staff to review the operations of local jurisdictions to ensure that the merit system is administered in accordance with Civil Service Law and Rules. 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 Newburgh Civil Service Commission has jurisdiction over a total of 1,082 employees: 336 are employed by the City and 746 by the Newburgh School District. Of these, 526, or 48.6 percent, are in the competitive class and are selected by competitive examination.
These figures do not include Housing Authority employees, as no information regarding the number of employees working at the Housing Authority was available. "Municipal civil service commissions generally are dedicated to implementing the Civil Service Law and Rules in a credible, trustworthy, fair, and efficient manner, despite limited resources," said Civil Service Commissioner Nancy G. Groenwegen. "The New York State Department of Civil Service will help them in every way possible to accomplish this goal."
Review the complete report:
Appointment Process Administration by the City of Newburgh Civil Service Commission(
1.05MB)
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