Fail: 20849 / 45.8% Yes votes ...... 24688 / 54.2% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Article XXV was enacted by the voters in 1935, to establish the Civil Service System and to place employees of the Police and Fire Department in the Civil Service. With the adoption of Chapter 2 of the Stockton Municipal Code, the City Council exercised its authority to place certain other classifications of employees under the Civil Service System. This has resulted in a "dual" system of civil service employees: Police and Fire employees, governed by the Charter and "Miscellaneous" employees, governed by the Municipal Code.

The City established the Charter Ad Hoc Review Committee to evaluate Article XXV in light of current personnel practices, and to recommend revisions. The City Council has approved for the voters' consideration the second phase of those proposed revisions to Article XXV, which are as follows:

· Place "Miscellaneous" employees currently governed by the Municipal Code under the Civil Service System established by Article XXV of the Charter. If adopted, the existing dual civil service system would be replaced with one system governed by the Charter.

· Add a provision for the election of a Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission upon appointment of a new Commissioner. Existing law provides only for the election of a Chair.

· Eliminate the Commission's discretion to suspend or discharge the City Clerk as Secretary to the Commission since the Clerk is a Council appointee and serves at Council's pleasure.

· Eliminate the authority of the Commission to appoint a Chief Examiner for the Commission. Under the rulemaking power already provided by the Charter, the Commission determines the manner in which examinations are held and has authorized the Human Resources Department to administer examinations.

· Add provision granting a general right to reemployment upon return to work from military service. Existing law imposes a time limit of three months on reemployment after military service.

· Delete provision added in 1935 requiring the Commission to report to the City Council compensation paid to Civil Service employees. Under current fiscal practice, the City Manager reports to the City Council during the annual budget process on compensation paid to employees. In addition, compensation is now a subject covered by collective bargaining agreements.

· Delete provision allowing for extra compensation to be awarded for meritorious service. If deleted, City employees will no longer be entitled to rewards or bonuses.

· Delete provision specifying that the cost of Civil Service Examinations be charged only to the general fund. If deleted, the cost of examinations will be charged to the appropriate fund, in the discretion of the City Council or City Manager.

· The remaining proposed amendments consist of renumbered sections, and grammatical and other editorial changes to correct ambiguities, modernize the language, and facilitate ease of reading.

The above statement is an Impartial Analysis of Measure N, if you desire a copy of Measure N, please call the Stockton City Clerk's office at (209) 937-8459, and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.

This measure is designed to make the work of the Civil Service Commission more efficient and more equitable. The current system of civil service regulations for City personnel is cumbersome and complicated. The Charter of the City provides regulations governing sworn employees of the Police and Fire Departments, and the City Council by ordinance set forth a framework for non-sworn employees. Thus, the Civil Service Commission must look to two different bases for authority and must maintain two different sets of rules to use, depending on whether the matter involves sworn or non-sworn employees. After a detailed review of the current system, the Civil Service Commission has concluded that the Charter should be amended so that it governs all employees in the Classified Service, sworn and non-sworn. This measure will place all employees in the Classified Service under the jurisdiction of article XXV of the City Charter.

This measure will also streamline personnel administration by deleting outdated provisions and bringing current practices in line with new federal and state laws. Some provisions of the Charter were adopted in 1935 and are no longer allowed under current personnel law. This measure deletes those obsolete provisions.

This measure also attempts to provide more discretion to the Civil Service Commission by removing some of the excessively detailed provisions of the current Charter. As currently written, the Charter hampers the Commission's ability to enact Civil Service Rules which respond to the needs of a changing workplace.

Measure N will modernize the current cumbersome system, ensure that the City's personnel practices are responsive to the wishes of the citizens and will ensure that non-sworn employees have the superior protection provided by the City charter.

The Civil Service Commission recommends a "yes" vote on Measure N.

Submitted by:

City of Stockton Civil Service Commission

/s/ Eddie Brown Jr., Chair /s/ Richard A. Gohlke, Commissioner /s/ Matthew E. Wetstein, Commissioner

(No arguments against Measure N were submitted)