99,932 / 72.0% Yes votes ...... 38,947 / 28.0% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

In 1995, the Mayor convened the New Realities Task Force which was comprised of 25 citizens from a broad cross-section of the community, with representatives from business, labor, clergy, academia and neighborhood groups, to study organizational efficiency, revenue, expenditure and personnel issues. The Task Force made a number of recommendations for civil service reform including the proposed Charter Amendments:

1. Reduce the terms of Civil Service Commissioners as set forth in Charter Section 1001 from 6 years to 4 years. The Task Force believed that the change to a shorter term would attract more candidates to serve on the Commission.

2. Remove provisions relating to Commission vacancies from the Charter so that these rules can be addressed in the Municipal Code. Currently Charter Section 1001 provides for removal of Commissioners only in specified circumstances such as for example, death, resignation or if an incumbent ceases to discharge his or her duties for a period of 3 consecutive months except when prevented by sickness or absence from the state with permission. The proposed measure would allow circumstances under which a Commissioner member should be removed from office to be set forth in the Municipal Code in order to allow for easier removal of Commissioners from office for failing to attend Commission meetings and hearings on a regular basis.

3. Delete the detailed process and procedures for disciplinary actions against City employees currently in Charter Section 1104 so that changes can be made in the future by the City Council by ordinance. Any such ordinance would require completion of the bargaining process with City labor organizations and review by the Civil Service Commission. The Task Force made this recommendation because it would give the City the flexibility to work with the labor organizations to make continuous improvements to the civil service system. The provisions which are proposed for deletion from the Charter have already been placed in the Municipal Code by an ordinance which was adopted on August 4,1998.

A reduction in term of office for Civil Service Commissioners would result in having more citizens serve on the commission over time.

Currently the grounds for removal of commissioners as well as the detail of the conduct of employee disciplinary processes are set forth in the Charter and thus no aspect, no matter how minor, can be changed without a vote of the people. The proposed Charter changes would increase flexibility by making it easier to effectuate changes in the removal of Civil Service Commissioners and employee disciplinary procedures, since the changes could be adopted by an ordinance. Changes with regard to discipline would be subject to meet and confer with affected bargaining units and would require review by the Civil Service Commission.

JOAN R. GALLO, City Attorney
City of San Jose

The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure CC. If you desire a copy of the Charter Amendment, please call the City Clerk's office at (408)277-4424 and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.

WILLIAM J. GARBETT,
President
Meadows Association

(No arguments against Measure CC were submitted)