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The city of Long Beach’s top management wants to speed up their lengthy hiring process by changing how it hires classified workers, who make up the bulk of its full-time workforce.
Right now, Long Beach’s Civil Service Department recruits classified workers by testing and ranking them, then placing them on a hiring eligibility list. Non-classified workers — who are typically at-will employees such as managers, employees of elected officials, or part-time seasonal workers — are recruited by individual city departments and hired through the city’s Human Resources Department.
The changes in Measure JB would strip the Civil Service Commission of its hiring duties and shift those responsibilities to the Human Resources Department.
Proponents, including the city’s top management, say the current bifurcated system is outdated and has resulted in confusion and redundancy, leading to a hiring crisis that has left nearly a quarter of city jobs unfilled. They say the new hiring system will be more efficient while continuing to be merit-based.
Opponents — including the city’s own Civil Service Commission, which voted unanimously in March to oppose the measure — say it will lead to more secrecy, and usher in unfairness and bias in hiring decisions. They’ve pushed back on the idea that Civil Service is the cause of the hiring delays and argued the proposal would concentrate more hiring power under the city manager, allowing for cronyism to creep into the process. They say it’s important to maintain the current protections of the Civil Service Department, which is overseen by an independent city commission outside of the city manager’s office.
The charter amendment would also give hiring advantages to Long Beach residents, students at local colleges, current employees and some city interns.
This charter amendment has garnered the most heated debate of any this cycle. You can read more about it here and here.
You can also see the pro-and-con arguments directly from the proponents and opponents here.