MILWAUKEE, JANUARY 1, 1901. To the Honorable David S. Rose, Mayor of the City of Milwaukee: The Board of City Service Commissioners herewith presents to you its Sixth Annual Report for the year ending December 31st, 1900, for transmission to the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, according to law. The action of the Board in relation to the transaction of the general business of the department, together with carefully compiled statistics relating thereto, will be found at length in the annexed report of the Chief Examiner and Secretary, and incorporated therewith a complete copy of the rules of the department now in force, together with a copy of the Civil Service Law and the amendments thereto. The Board during the past year has examined 274 applicants for positions in the official service of the city, and has held for such purpose 17 public competitive examinations, the largest number ever held by the Board in any one year excepting one. This has resulted from the action of the Board in abolishing all official eligible lists which have been in force more than two years, and in consequence of the increase in the work of the department the Board has adopted the practice of holding regular meetings upon Friday afternoon of each week. The financial statement of the Board will show that the business of the department has been conducted with careful economy, so that at the end of the year with the balance accumulated in former years, the City Service Fund showed a balance of $1,626.88. This has enabled the Board to require but $3,000 to be raised by taxation for the expenses of the department during the coming year. We take this occasion to submit a recommendation that the existing rules in relation to appointments under Rule V be amended so as to provide, that when the person appointed is not the first in standing upon. the list of eligibles certified for appointment, that the appointing officer shall notify the Board in writing of the reason for such action, and that such appointments shall take effect after approval by the Board. Under the rule as it now stands, the appointing officer, with no restriction other than the requirement that he shall give in writing his reasons for appointing a person other than the first upon the eligible. list, may select any one from the names certified to him. While it is the general practice of all the city departments to appoint the person having the highest standing among those certified, yet there have been exceptions which have tended to weaken the confidence of the public in the merit system. The presumption is that the person attaining the highest standing in competitive examination, is best qualified to discharge the duties of the position and should receive the appointment, unless for reasons which the appointing officer can furnish, and this Board can approve, a person having a lower standing should receive the appointment. The Board submits the further recommendation that an amendment to the law is desirable, giving to the Board the power to suspend from office any person who, upon investigation by the Board, is found to be holding a position in the service of the city, which position is under the Civil Service rules, to which he has been appointed, transferred or promoted in violation of the rules. This defect in the existing law was suggested by action of one of the departments of the city in retaining in office certain employes whose appointment had been made in violation of the rules of this department. This Board was without power to suspend such appointments or to prevent the payment of their salaries from the city treasury until the Board making the appointments, acting upon the recommendation of this Board, complied with the law. The Board has recently adopted a new form of application blank in relation to the labor service, and has provided the Chief Examiner with a commission as a Notary Public, so that all applications may be sworn to before him at the office of the Board, without charge to the applicant; thus adding to the efficiency of the examination and at the same time eliminating the cost of a Notary's fee to the applicant. Respectfully submitted, EDGAR L. WOOD, GEO. P. ZIEGLER, Commissioners. |