There is hereby established a merit system for
all positions in the civil service of the City of Royal Oak, including
unskilled labor, except as hereinafter qualified or exempted. All
municipal personnel problems shall be approached so far as possible
in a professional and impartial manner. Appointments to the City's
service and promotions and transfers therein shall be based solely
upon the qualifications, training and experience of the individual,
with no discrimination on account of political or religious opinions,
or affiliations, race, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, marital
status, handicap or other nonmerit factors. No officer or employee
shall be demoted, suspended, or discharged on caprice or for the above-stated
nonmerit factors, but such demotions, suspensions and discharges shall
be made only for inefficiency, incompetency, inability to perform
essential functions, insubordination, neglect of duty, misfeasance
or malfeasance in office, or other cause for the good of the service
of the City.
There is hereby created a Civil Service Board
who shall administer the said merit system for all positions in the
City's service except as hereinafter qualified or exempted. The said
Board shall consist of five electors of the City to be appointed by
the City Commission for a term of three years. Members of the Board
shall serve without compensation and shall not hold any other public
City office or serve on any City political committee or take active
part in the management of any City political campaign. The Commission
may remove any member of the Board upon stating in writing the reasons
for removal and allowing him an opportunity to be heard in his own
defense. Any vacancy shall be filled by the Commission for the unexpired
term. The City Clerk shall act as Secretary for the Board.
Every member of the Civil Service Board shall,
before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office and
within 10 days after receiving notice of his appointment, take and
subscribe the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution of this
state and file the same duly certified by the officer administering
it with the City Clerk.
The Board shall organize by electing one of
their number to serve as Chairman, who shall serve as Chairman for
one year, and thereafter the Chairman shall be elected annually. The
City Clerk shall act as Secretary for the Board and shall supply the
necessary clerical and stenographic service for the work of the Board,
and shall perform all secretarial and record keeping functions of
the Board.
The Board shall be provided by the City Commission
with suitable and convenient quarters for carrying on its work and
for conducting whatever examinations and tests are necessary and proper
for the carrying out of the provisions of this chapter. The Board
will be supplied from the Purchasing Department, upon proper requisition,
with the necessary stationery, postage stamps and other supplies.
The Commission shall annually make such appropriation
as shall be necessary for meeting the expenses of effectually administering
the merit system. All expenses incurred by the Civil Service Board
shall be paid out of the said appropriation in the same manner and
under the same conditions as near as may be as expenses for other
departments are paid.
The Board shall have the power to prescribe
and enforce rules and regulations for carrying into effect the provisions
of this chapter and may from time to time add to, amend or rescind
any such rules, and any such amendments or changes in rules shall
be posted in conspicuous places in the respective departments of the
City at least 10 days before their effective date. It shall have the
power to conduct and supervise all examinations and other selection
instruments to determine the qualifications of applicants for the
City's service. It shall keep minutes of its own proceedings and records
of its official actions. Copies of all proceedings of the Board shall
be furnished by the City Clerk to the City Manager, City Commission
and the Human Resource Director.
The minutes of the official proceedings of the
Board and a roster of all officers and employees in the City's service
and all eligibles for appointment to such service shall be public
records and, subject to reasonable regulations, be open to public
inspection. Applications, examination papers or other tests, recommendations
from former employers, reports of heads of departments concerning
employees, and such other letters and papers as in the opinion of
the Board shall be confidential shall be kept on file for the use
of the Board, but shall not be open for public inspection.
The Board, or any member thereof authorized
by the Board, may make investigations of all matters pertaining to
the enforcement of this chapter and the rules and regulations prescribed
thereunder, concerning the action of any examiner or service, in respect
to the administration of this chapter. Each Board member, for the
purpose of such investigation, shall have the power to administer
oaths and affirmations and take testimony, shall have the power to
subpoena and require the attendance of witness and the production
of books and papers pertinent to the investigations and inquiries
hereby authorized; shall have the authority to incur expenses for
payment of fees for attendance and travel of such witness. All appointive
officers in the public service and their deputies, clerks, subordinates
and employees shall attend and testify before said Board when requested
by it.
The Civil Service Board may, subject to the
approval of the City Commission, appoint an examiner to conduct examinations
and other tests held for testing the ability of applicants for the
City's service, or it may, with the approval of the said Commission,
enter into a contract for the services of a person skilled in personnel
work, who may or may not be a resident of the City of Royal Oak, to
prepare and conduct such examinations and tests and otherwise assist
the Board in carrying out the merit systems.
The Civil Service Board shall, upon request
of the City Commission or may at any time of its own volition, make
a study of the duties and responsibilities of all positions in the
City's service, to the end that a proper duties' classification system
may be in effect at all times. The Board shall, upon request by the
City Manager or any department head, make such study of positions
in the department or departments under the jurisdiction of the appointing
authority making such request to the end of making a proper duties'
classification in that particular department or departments.
The Civil Service Board shall be furnished within
30 days after this chapter takes effect, and thereafter whenever requested
by the Board, a schedule showing the compensation for each position
in the City's service. The Board shall make a study of the compensation
for each position in relation to the duties performed and shall from
time to time make such recommendations as it deems advisable to the
City Manager, in order that proper pay differentials may be established
between positions that differ materially in duties performed and responsibilities
exercised in order that so far as possible there may be equal pay
for equal work.
