6.12 Department Head Recruitments and Appointments
Per Section 2.08.070 et seq. of the Municipal Code, the City Manager has the duty and authority to appoint department heads, except for the City Attorney. This inherently includes the authority to conduct an external or internal recruitment for the position; or to appoint a department head internally, provided the department head candidate meets the minimum qualifications for the position and is a tenured, current City employee. Accordingly, department head recruitments shall be determined by the City Manager (in their sole discretion, but in consultation with the Human Resources Department), consistent with the personnel rules (and Section 6 herein) to the extent such rules are consistent with the Municipal Code, with the following exceptions:
-the City Manager may elect to conduct an examination that caters to the department head position in her/his sole discretion/determination, including the scoring of an examination; -if eight (8) or more candidates are chosen for the examination, the City Manager may elect to interview the top five (5) candidates following the examination, provided, a minimum of the top three (3) candidates must be interviewed;
-if six (6) or seven (7) candidates are chosen for the examination, the City Manager may elect to interview the top four (4) candidates following the examination, provided, a minimum of the top three (3) candidates must be interviewed;
-as noted above, the City Manager may elect to appoint a tenured, current City employee to a department head position, provided the employee meets the minimum qualifications for the position and the employee is in good standing; and
-preferential promotional credits shall not apply to department head recruitments.
Per the definitions contained in Section 15 of these Rules, department heads are not considered members of the Classified Service or Competitive Service.
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