Examinations for the establishment of eligible lists shall be competitive and by such character as fairly to test and determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors actually to perform the duties of the class or position for which they seek appointment.
(Prior code § 14.1700; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)
Except as provided herein and in Section 3.08.630 examinations may be promotional or open, assembled or unassembled, written, or oral, or in the form of a demonstration of skill, or any combination of these; and any investigation of character, personality, education and experience and any test of intelligence, capacity, technical knowledge, manual skill, or physical fitness which the director of human resources deems appropriate.
(Prior code § 14.17 10; Ord. 5160-B, 2002; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007; Ord. 5991-B § 1, 2019)
The director shall make public announcements of all examinations at least 10 working days prior to the closing date. Announcements shall be posted on the personnel department's job board and given such other publicity as the director of human resources deems warranted to attract a sufficient number of qualified candidates to compete. Recruitments may be of one of the following types at the discretion of the director of human resources:
A. 
Regular Recruitment. Regular examination announcements shall specify a filing period of at least 10 working days and shall clearly state a final filing date.
B. 
Continuous Recruitment. In instances where the need for employees is frequent or continuing, or there is a labor market scarcity, the director of human resources may announce examinations with no final filing date and conduct recruitments of sufficient duration to assure the county's needs are met.
C. 
Limited Recruitment. The director of human resources may restrict the recruitment to limit the size of the applicant group by:
1. 
Establishing a shorter filing period than that required for regular recruitments;
2. 
Specify a maximum number of applications that will be accepted and the recruitment shall close immediately when that number is reached; or
3. 
Other means that are appropriate to the circumstance.
(Prior code § 14.1715; Ord. 5371-B, 2005; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007; Ord. 5991-B § 1, 2019)
Official examination announcements shall include:
A. 
The title of the class and salary grade at which appointment may be made;
B. 
Final filing date, if established;
C. 
Officially established minimum qualification requirements or such other standards for education or experience as may have been approved;
D. 
Relative weights assigned to the various parts of the examination unless otherwise set forth in the notice to appear for the first part of the examination or announced at the time of the first part of the examination; and
E. 
Other special conditions for admission to the examination, certification and employment.
(Prior code § 14.1718; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)
A. 
Every applicant shall submit a county application for employment to the human resources department on or before the final filing date published in the job announcement.
B. 
Deputy Sheriffs' Unit. Every applicant for a promotional examination must meet the minimum qualifications for the classification by the scheduled written examination date. In the event no written examination is scheduled, then the date of the oral examination will be utilized.
(Prior code § 14.1720; Ord. 5028-B, 2000; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007; Ord. 5991-B § 1, 2019)
The director may refuse to accept, examine, or, after examination, may refuse to declare as an eligible, or may withhold or withdraw from certification, prior to appointment, anyone who comes under the following categories.
A. 
Lacks any of the requirements legally established in the public bulletins for the examination or position for which they applied.
B. 
Engages in conduct that is inconsistent with the county's drug and alcohol policy.
C. 
Has been dismissed from any position in public or private service for any cause, which would be a cause for dismissal in the county service.
D. 
Has resigned from any position not in good standing or in order to avoid dismissal.
E. 
Has practiced or attempted to practice any deception or fraud in their application, in their examination, or in securing their eligibility.
F. 
Is found unsuited or not qualified for employment. Whenever an applicant is rejected, they shall be notified in writing of the reason for the rejection and of their right to appeal to the civil service commission.
(Prior code § 14.1725; Ord. 5160-B, 2002; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007; Ord. 5901-B § 1, 2018; Ord. 6068-B § 1, 2021)
A. 
The final, earned rating of each person competing in any examination shall be determined by the weighted average of the earned ratings on all phases of the examination, according to the weights for each phase established in advance of the giving of the examination and published as a part of the announcement of the examination.
B. 
The director may set minimum ratings for each phase of an examination and may provide that competitors failing to achieve such rating in any phase shall be disqualified from any further participation in the examination.
C. 
Current employees who have completed and passed a written examination for a promotional position will be given the option to apply the previous written test score to a new list rather than taking the written examination again if it has been determined by the director of human resources that the tests are substantially similar.
(Prior code § 14.1730; Ord. 5058-B (Attach. 21), 2000; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007; Ord. 5991-B § 1, 2019)
A. 
For classes of positions in which there has been a demonstrated difficulty in maintaining adequate eligible lists, the director of human resources may receive applications, conduct examinations, and create eligible lists continuously. The names of all eligibles who took the same or comparable examination on different dates may be ranked on one eligible list for purposes of certification in the order of final earned rating.
B. 
Examinations will be scheduled by the director of human resources in accordance with the demand in filling vacancies. Successful candidates will remain on the eligible list for the calendar year the eligible list was established, or until the final filing date, whichever occurs first. Candidates will be eligible to reapply and take an examination if a new recruitment opens the following calendar year.
If a candidate fails any phase of the examination process, they will be deemed ineligible for employment in accordance with the above regulations with the exception of certain standardized public safety written examinations which may allow applicants to retake an examination in accordance with applicable state regulatory agency standards (e.g., POST and/or BSCC).
(Prior code § 14.1740; Ord. 5160-B, 2002; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007; Ord. 5991-B § 1, 2019; Ord. 6068-B § 1, 2021; Ord. 6218-B, 9/26/2023)
The director shall designate the procedure, time, place and type of examination, the conditions under which it may be conducted, and the proctor to conduct the examination.
(Prior code § 14.1745; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)
For each oral examination, the director shall appoint an oral board consisting of persons interested in the advancement of public service and the selection of the best qualified personnel for the class for which the examination is being conducted.
A. 
Members. No person having appointing authority for the particular position to be filled shall be a member of an oral board. No one employee in the department affected shall be a member of an oral board for a promotional examination except as provided in subsection C of this section.
B. 
Auditing Examinations. An appointing authority of the position to be filled, or authorized representative, may attend oral examinations, for such positions, other than promotional examinations, for the purpose of informing the oral board members of the specific responsibilities of the position to be filled and of particular qualifications desired in the application to be appointed. The appointing authority or authorized representative shall not be present during the deliberations of the oral board or participate in the scoring or ranking of the candidates.
C. 
Procedure Where All Applicants Will be Certified—Promotional. In any examination where one vacancy is to be filled and where three or less applications are received for examination or for continuous examinations, the director of human resources may prescribe the most appropriate examination procedure. If the number of vacancies requested to be filled is more than one, the number of certifiable ranks will increase proportionately. (Example: One vacancy results in no more than five ranks certified; two vacancies result in no more than six ranks certified, etc.)
(Prior code § 14.1750; Ord. 5160-B, 2002; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007; Ord. 5991-B § 1, 2019)
Each candidate in an examination which includes physical exertion or other activity which may result in injury or damage to the candidate or to his or her property shall be required to execute a document releasing the county from any and all liability in connection with examination. Failure to execute such document when requested to do so shall result in disqualification of the candidate.
(Prior code § 14.1755; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)
The director shall establish a procedure for scoring each examination which will give due weight to each portion of the examination and which will afford each qualified candidate an equal opportunity to compete.
(Prior code § 14.1760; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)
The director shall establish for each written, oral and unassembled examination a minimum passing grade, which shall be set forth in the examination bulletin. Failure by any candidate to attain the minimum passing grade in any portion of an examination shall eliminate the candidate from competition in any further portion of the examination. Any candidate so eliminated shall be notified promptly in writing.
(Prior code § 14.1765; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)
Each written examination shall be scored before the name of any candidate is revealed to the person scoring the examination.
(Prior code § 14.1770; Ord. 5160-B, 2002; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)
The scores of candidates who are successful in typing and/or shorthand performance tests shall be kept on record in the central personnel office for a period of one year. During that period, they shall be accepted as satisfying the performance test requirement for each class for which the minimum typing and/or shorthand qualifications have been attained.
(Prior code § 14.1775; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)
Applications of candidates shall be retained for the duration of the employment list, at least, and shall be made available for inspection by appointing authorities to whom the candidates are certified. Applications of those candidates appointed shall be filed with the reports of their appointment. Applications for those candidates not appointed, shall be retained for up to two years from the date of the application. Answer sheets, test keys, and other examination records shall be retained for the duration of the employment list, and thereafter for a period of time to be determined by the director.
(Prior code § 14.1785; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)
Candidates who believe their qualifications have been improperly evaluated in an examination may appeal as follows:
A. 
If a candidate wishes to appeal any phase of the examination, a written statement must be filed with the commission setting forth the nature of the action being appealed, the circumstances surrounding the action and the nature of the relief which is being sought.
B. 
Appeals to the commission from any phase of an examination must be filed within 30 calendar days after establishment of the eligible list.
C. 
The commission at its first regular meeting following the filing of a timely appeal will take the matter under submission to determine the facts in the case. After careful consideration of all facts and circumstances, the commission at its next regular meeting shall take such action, or direct that such action, be taken as will, in its judgment, provide a legal, fair and equitable remedy.
D. 
Valid appointment from an open eligible list shall not be affected by any subsequent action by the commission which affects the eligible list.
(Prior code § 14.1790; Ord. 5478-B (Attach. A), 2007)