DRAFT

MINUTES

COMMITTEE ON MINORITY AFFAIRS

FEBRUARY 27, 1996

12 NOON

Present: Chairman: Clinton Young, Jr. Members: Lois Bronz

Bob Darcy Secretary: Lynne Creighton

Tony Giambruno, Ed Dowdy, George Vargas

The meeting was called to order at 12:05 PM by Mr. Young.

The minutes of February 20 were approved, as amended, on motion of

Mrs. Bronz, seconded by Mr. Young.

Mr. Giambruno opened a discussion on the hiring practices of the County, saying that a good percentage of the positions are New York State Civil Services positions, which requires passing a test with a good score.

The exam is given by the State.

Mr. Giambruno explained that the County is bound by the state to hire from the top three, and that the State Legislature is looking at increasing it to a rule of 10. He said that his office supported this increase and that it was sent to the Board of Legislators, possibly to County Officers and Departments, and it was never acted upon.

Mr. Giambruno said that increasing the base to 10 would allow the County to hire more minorities. He believes that the state unions were not in favor of the increase, which is one reason it didn’t pass.

Some highlights of Mr. Giambruno’s presentation:

- County was first to have 28 Spanish-speaking titles

- Department of Personnel does not do any hiring and firing, except

within its own department. Office serves as Civil Service Commission,

with Mr. Giambruno acting as Civil Service Commissioner.

- Each department head is responsible for hiring and firing.

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COMMITTEE ON MINORITY AFFAIRS

A open discussion followed Mr. Giambruno’s presentation:

Mr. Darcy wanted to know if the hiring of provisionals was left to department heads and Mr. Giambruno said they could not hire provisionals if there was a valid Civil Service List, and that the list is valid mandatory for one year to a maximum of four years.

Mrs. Bronz wanted to know how a vacancy was filled within a department and Mr. Giambruno said they would contact his office to find out if it was a competitive position, at which point he would send them the current list,

from which they would make the appointment.

Mr. Young wanted to know if in relation to handicapped applicants there was a separate group for them and Mr. Giambruno said the only provision was to make special arrangements for testing.

Mr. Young also asked about handling resumes and requests for jobs, and Mr. Giambruno said it’s best to avoid handling applications and to forward them to Jamie Hastings or to Personnel.

Mr. Giambruno said he is pleased with the Summer Job Program, which currently hires about 1,000 employees, out of 2,500 applicants.

Minority hires for 1995 were 502 out of 1,082.

After further discussion on the Summer Job Program, Mr. Young thanked Mr. Giambruno for his presentation.