Civil service panel adopts new assistant head custodian job description after commissioners flag prior appointments

The Ithaca City Civil Service Commission voted to adopt a new job description for an assistant head custodian and noted that two employees currently occupying that title may have been appointed before the position was formally classified.

Commissioners said the appointments appear to have been made by the school district before the Civil Service Commission had created or classified the title. "They did things backwards, made these appointments before we even classified," a civil service staff member said during the meeting. The commission approved the new duty statement after a motion and a voice vote of "Aye."

The commission discussed options short of disciplinary action, noting their limited authority over prior appointments. One commissioner said the practical response was to adopt the job description now and notify the school district that the current occupants had assumed the position prematurely. "The best thing that we can do now is just fix it," the civil service staff member said.

The item included a plan by a commissioner to meet with the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) to discuss process and clarify how appointments and job classifications are being handled going forward. The commission did not record any formal penalties, and no formal reversal of the appointments was made at the meeting.

The commission handled the adoption as an immediate classification action; the transcript shows the commission approving the duty statement and noting the school district would be asked to correct its process and records.

The record does not show a written finding of illegality or a formal remedy beyond adoption of the classification and a planned meeting with ICSD.