Trinity County Hiring Practices

Recommendations 2

• R1

  Page 24
  The County should make a good faith effort to ensure that county residents are aware of all employment op- portunities, whether permanent, part-time or consult- ing, by announcing open positions county-wide using all available media and outlets, including post offices, gen- eral stores, clubs and other known community gather- ing places. There are few county jobs that are so urgent that a hardship would be created by taking a week or two to ensure that qualified Trinity County residents know about the position and have an opportunity to submit an application.
• R2

  Page 24
  All job descriptions must be written in such a manner that every knowledge and skill requirement can be di- rectly and convincingly related to performing the spe- cific job being advertised, and not designed to ensure the employment of a desired person. Because the 98-99 Grand Jury does not have adequate time to investigate county hiring processes in-depth, it is recommended that the 99-00 Grand Jury undertake a thorough investigation of the process. CONCLUSION: By following Grand Jury recommendations Trinity County can avoid the appearance of nepotism and other improper hiring practices. DAY RESPONSE REQUESTED FROM: County Chief Administrative Officer, County Personnel Officer and Board of Supervisors. Response of the County Administrative Officer June 28, 1999 To: John K. Letton, Superior Court Judge From: Jeannie Nix-Temple, County Administrative Officer Re: Response to 1998/99 Trinity County Grand Jury Finance and Administration Committee Final Report-Trinity County Hiring Practices My response to the findings and recommendations of the Grand Jury’s Report is as follows: Recommendation # 1: I am not sure exactly which County positions have been identified as potentially having the appearance of im- propriety. There are actually several ways of recruiting that may seem improper to the outside viewer. They are however perfectly legal. One of these is the “in depart- ment” promotional exam and another is the “in county” recruitment. Either one of these situations affords cur- rent employees an opportunity that the general public does not have. Either of these situations does provide for a competitive process. These positions are usually set up this way because the required experience could most likely be attained working for Trinity County gov- ernment and being familiar with the department and the system. Recommendation # 2: Trinity County has upwards of 470 employees at any one time. We recruit for and hire on average 140 em- ployees in a year. I regret that anyone would think that we employ any kind of biased recruiting practices. How- ever, I am relieved that there are only two examples of perceived impropriety. I will welcome the 99/2000 Grand Jury’s investigation into our department. I feel confi- dent that a full investigation will assuage any suspicions of unfair practices. I have enclosed a copy of our General Hiring Practices for your review. The only exceptions to this rule would be the above. Thank you for the opportunity to provide a response. Enclosure TRINITY COUNTY - HIRING PRACTICES Trinity County advertises all of its position openings in the local newspaper, the Trinity Journal, for two weeks. Copies of job flyers are given to all departments to post and also sent to various agencies including TOT and EDD. EDD places all flyers on the internet. Depending on the position, it may be listed in other publications as well. ELIGIBILITY REGISTERS - Various positions that have frequent openings are offered as eligibility list openings. This means that if you see an eligibility list advertised in the Trinity Journal for which you are qualified, you should file an application at that time. The County will then follow appropriate procedures to compile the eligibility register. Normally, the register is good for one year. - EXTRA-HELP - This term means a position is tempo- rary. It can be a part-time or full-time schedule. APPLICATION DEADLINE - Check the flyer or news- paper listing for the deadline, the last date applications will be accepted for a position. In some cases an appli- cation that is mailed on the deadline date and postmarked on that date will be accepted, but you should check with the Personnel Office if you are unable to meet the appli- cation deadline. JOB INTEREST CARD - If there are no current open- ings in the job you are interested in applying for, you may submit a job interest card. In this event we will notify you if there is recruitment conducted in your area of interest. Please consult the directory of county posi- tions for the correct position title. INTEREVIEW EXPENSES - Candidates invited for an interview must provide their own lodging, food and transportation. If you are selected for County employment you must first pass a medical examination and a drug and alcohol screening. This is a regular part of the selection process and is paid for by the County. If you have any questions regarding any of the above, they should be directed to: Trinity County Administration & Personnel P.O. Box 1613 Weaverville, CA 96093-1613 (530) 623-1325 Trinity County is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Response of the Board of Supervisors July 15, 1999 Jerry Boosinger Trinity County Grand Jury P.O. Box 1258 Weaverville, CA 96093 RE: -99 Finance and Administration Committee Final Report Trinity County Hiring Practices Dear Foreperson: The Trinity County Board of Supervisors acknowledges receipt of the above-referenced report and thanks the Grand Jury for its work. The Board’s response is as follows: Recommendation # 1: The County should make a good faith effort to ensure that County residents are aware of all employment op- portunities, whether permanent, part-time or consult- ing, by announcing open positions county-wide using all available media and outlets, including post offices, gen- eral stores, clubs and other known community gather- ing places. The Board of Supervisors agree with the comments of the County Administrative Officer. Be assured, that the Board considers it to be extremely important that the best person for each job is the one hired. Government isn’t composed of buildings and roads, but is composed of people. It is the Board’s goal that the best qualified applicant be selected for each job. Department heads are evaluated on many things, including their ability to attract and maintain quality employees who have an at- titude of service to the public. Recommendation # 2: All job descriptions must be written in such a manner that every knowledge and skill requirement can be di- rectly and convincingly related to performing the spe- cific job being advertised and not designed to ensure the employment of a desired person. The Board of Supervisors agree. We are proud of our employees and recognize that if County standards are going to continue to improve, we must be diligent in seeking the best qualified applicant for each position. The Board of Supervisors acknowledges the fine work of the Grand Jury and appreciates that many positive outcomes are encouraged by the Jury’s attention to County procedures. We thank you for your collective efforts. Sincerely, TRINITY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Robert Reiss, Chairman _________________________________________________________________________________________________