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Council sends request for three civil-service exemptions back to committee after union asks for input
Summary
The council deferred action on requests to exempt three senior positions from civil service protections and asked that the proposal return to the Personnel Committee so unions and affected employees can be heard.
The council paused final action on requested civil-service exemptions for three senior engineering and retirement positions and agreed to send the item back to the personnel committee after representatives of employee organizations said they were not given adequate notice to participate.
City Engineer Vito Troyan (identified in the hearing as "the city engineer") explained the request for exemptions: under the charter he may have two exempt deputies and sought to expand selection options for a deputy city engineer and principal architect by opening recruitment beyond internal candidates. Troyan told council he would still allow qualified city staff to apply and that most principal engineer hires would remain civil-service appointments.
Representatives of employee groups said they had not been notified of the personnel committee meeting and asked for a committee hearing. Bob Aquino, executive director of EAA, asked for the opportunity to present facts developed by the association and to appear at Personnel Committee before council action. Councilmember Walters and others supported returning the item to committee to allow union and staff input.
Council direction: The chair asked that the item be returned to the Personnel Committee for further consideration with the opportunity for the affected employee groups to be heard; council asked the committee to expedite the follow-up and report back quickly.
Why it matters: Exempting a position from civil-service protections changes the hiring rules and can affect job security and career progression for in-house staff. Unions and staff groups sought the committee review to ensure transparency and permit employees to present evidence and recommendations.
Next steps: The Personnel Committee will rehear the exemptions request and accept presentations from EAA and other stakeholders; the council asked for a prompt return to the full council with committee recommendations.
