Marysville Municipal Code Art. 3 Examinations

In establishing eligible lists for positions in the Career service, promotional, open, and continuous examinations shall be used.

Where no eligibility list exists, vacancies to be filled in a classification series other than at the entry level may, at the option of the Personnel Director, be filled by promotional examination or open examination or both promotional and open examinations.

All examinations except "Promotional Only" examinations shall be open to any applicant who meets the minimum qualification requirements or employment standards included in the class specification.

Competitive promotional only examinations shall be used primarily in classes for which experience in the lower class in a series is required and no alternate pattern of acceptable education or experience is allowed, including, but not limited to, a class series in which an employee is hired as a trainee into a position which is allocated at the first working level.

(a) The Personnel Director may employ "Promotional Only" examinations as an exception to this Rule upon showing evidence that:

(1) The examination is for a class which is clearly designed to provide career advancement opportunity within an occupational field;

(2) No significant group of employees, such as those in the Executive service, would be excluded thereby.

(b) Candidates for promotional only examinations must have completed a probationary period and hold permanent status in the Career service as of the final filing date for the position, unless the Personnel Director first expressly waives the requirements for permanent status for a specific examination, and must possess the minimum qualifications or employment standards included in the class specification.

(c) Should a promotional only examination produce no qualified applicants, an open examination may be called by the Personnel Director.

History: Amended 7/2015.

[1]

Specific Authority: Resolution No. 2015-32.

The Personnel Director may administer continuous open examinations from time-to-time as applicants are available or as candidates are needed to fill vacant positions.

(a) Continuous open examinations for a given class may be announced by publishing periodic announcement bulletins which shall remain in effect no longer than one year.

(b) A single eligible list, based upon the required examinations, shall be maintained by the Personnel Director and names of qualifying candidates shall be merged on that list in the order of their final scores in the examinations.

(c) Names of qualified candidates shall remain on the list for one full year from the date they were entered, unless sooner removed in accordance with applicable sections of this Article.

Examinations may be assembled or unassembled, and shall consist of one, or a combination of the following types, as determined by the Personnel Director: 1) Oral; 2) Written; 3) Performance; 4) Physical agility; 5) Evaluation of training and experience; or 6) any other forms designed to test the qualifications of applicants for suitability to perform in the workplace; provided, however, if a combination of two or more types of tests is used in the same examination, the relative weighted value of each type, expressed as a percentage, shall be included on the announcement for the examination.

(a) Written. Written tests may be used to measure knowledge, abilities, or aptitudes, insofar as such traits are related to ability to perform the work of the position or class.

(b) Oral. Oral qualifications appraisal examinations shall be used to evaluate experience, training or education, and other factors that relate to the knowledge or abilities required to perform the work of the position or class, and may be either structured or unstructured, as the Personnel Director may determine.

(c) Performance. Performance tests may be used to evaluate skill, speed, or accuracy with which principal tasks of the position or class are performed.

(d) Physical Agility. Physical agility tests may be used to measure agility, strength, coordination, or general physical fitness required to perform the duties of the position or class.

(e) Trainee to First Working Level. There are in Career service a number of classes in which it is desirable to allocate a position at the first working level, but employ a person at the training level and promote him to the first working level when his training is completed and he is deemed competent to function at the first working level. Examinations for such promotions shall be subject to the following:

(1) Applicants occupying trainee positions must meet the minimum qualification requirements or employment standards of the working level class as of midnight of the final filing date for the examination, and must submit all required application materials within the prescribed filing period;

(2) For each candidate whose application is accepted, the employing department will complete an employee evaluation and fitness report and submit it to the Personnel Director as part of the examination process;

(3) As needed, an oral board will be assembled, or the Personnel Director may review the application materials and rate the applicants' qualifications for promotion.

Examinations shall be scheduled as the current and anticipated needs of the service require; provided, however, that scheduled examinations may be postponed or canceled or the final date for filing applications extended by the Personnel Director by notifying all persons who have filed applications or by posting a notice on the bulletin board.

The Personnel Director shall be responsible for administering and scoring all tests in connection with the Career service.

(a) The Personnel Director may disqualify any candidate who attempts to interfere with the fair, equitable, and orderly conduct of any part of the competitive examination process.

(b) Tardiness may be grounds for disqualification in the examination.

(c) Failure to appear for, or failure to achieve a passing score in one test of the examination shall disqualify a candidate in the entire examination.

(d) An applicant who has not certified in writing that he possesses the minimum qualifications for the examination, shall not be admitted to an examination.

(e) An applicant whose application was not either received or postmarked on or before the final filing date established for the examination may be admitted to an examination with prior approval of the Personnel Director.

(a) Preference points will be awarded to applicants who are eligible military veterans according to state law.

(b) In all cases in which an applicant is entitled to receive veterans' preference points, no points shall be given unless the applicant has otherwise met the minimum qualifications or employment standards established for the position, and has earned an overall passing rating in the examination in accordance with applicable provisions of this Article.

The final score of a candidate shall be based upon all tests and evaluations in the examination, according to the weights established for each test in the examination, and any preference points to which the candidate is entitled; provided, however, that minimum qualifying ratings shall be set in advance for each test in an examination, and all candidates failing to achieve such ratings in any test shall be disqualified from any further participation in the examination.

For all examinations a numerical rating system will be established by the Personnel Director, whenever practicable, to be applied to any combination of factors which will represent the minimum performance or requirement by which eligibility will be determined; provided, however, that ratings shall be expressed in percentages with seventy percent (70%) being the minimum passing score, unless the Personnel Director has set a higher percentage, and one-hundred percent (100%) being the maximum possible score, exclusive of applicable preference points, if any.

(a) In oral qualifications appraisal interviews, the separate ratings assigned by the individual members of a panel to each candidate shall be reduced to an arithmetic mean.

(b) If the mean rating of a candidate pursuant to subsection (a) is below seventy percent (70%), or such higher percentage as was set by the Personnel Director pursuant to this section, but a majority of the members of the panel assign a passing score, the candidate shall be given a score of seventy percent (70%) or such other minimum passing score as was set by the Personnel Director pursuant to this section.

(c) If a majority of the members of a panel assign a failing score, the candidate shall be failed regardless of his mean rating.

(d) Minimum qualifying ratings shall be stated on the examination announcement.

History: Amended 1/2015.

[1]

Specific Authority: Resolution No. 2015-04.

Each candidate taking an examination shall be given prompt written notice of whether or not he qualified in the examination, his final rating, and his relative position on the eligibility list.

An error in grading or rating, if called to the attention of the Personnel Director in writing within fourteen (14) calendar days after the mailing of notices of results of an examination shall be corrected; provided, however, that correction shall not affect certification or appointment already made from the eligible list.

No person may inspect any test materials at any time except with the express prior approval, and under the supervision, of the Personnel Director.