City Clerk Michael Smart has a woman he wants to hire permanently in his office. But civil service rules — and now the police — have gotten in the way.
Police recently arrested the woman, who has been working for Smart on a temporary basis, on a felony stolen-firearms charge as part of a continuing investigation.
That was the latest setback for an effort Smart began last year to find the woman a permanent position.
He originally hired her on a temporary basis to fill a vacant spot in his office, that of election specialist. The job entails preparing absentee ballots, helping the public search public records, maintaining campaign finance reports, collecting fees, opening mail, among other duties. (Click here to read the job description.)
As she neared the end of her temporary 90-day appointment, the city held a civil service test for a permanent appointment to the position. The woman failed the test.
Smart could have hired one of the three top scorers for the position. Instead, he left the position vacant.
Then he created a new position in his office: “administrative customer service coordinator.” The position, which pays $38,948 a year, calls for someone to “serve as a secretary,” help the public search public records, issue sewer liens, help with department planning, translate proclamations, among other duties. (Click here to read the full description.)
Smart said that in her original position, the woman was ending up doing a lot of work — customer service and Spanish language translation — that wasn’t emphasized in the election specialist test. He had run for the clerk’s job promising better customer service and more help for Spanish-speaking customers. So, he said, rather than fill the old job, he decided to create the new position to better serve the office’s needs.
On Dec. 1 Smart placed the woman in the position on a 90-day temporary basis. He then extended that temporary hiring another 90 days, as permitted under civil service rules. Now the time is running out — she has worked 123 days in the temporary position, according to city human resources chief Stephen Librandi.
Librandi said a test still isn’t ready for the position. He blamed delays both on his busy office’s end (staff has been working overtime on fire and police department testing matters) as well as on delays by Smart’s office.
“It has taken much longer than it should have to give this test,” Librandi said.
“That’s not true. I’ve turned in everything I needed to,” Smart responded. He said he’s waiting on human resources to schedule a testing date.
“She works hard. Customers like her. She understands the needs of the office,” Smart said of the temporary employee. “Like anyone else, has to take the test. She has to pass” to keep the job permanently.
Meanwhile, the woman’s arrest has complicated the quest to hire her permanently. Police arrested her on May 22 during a search of a home as part of a broader investigation, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman. Her arrest warrant is sealed.
The woman, who was released form jail on a $10,000 bond, categorically denied the charge in a conversation Thursday. She said that on advice of her attorney she could not discuss the matter further.
Smart said she informed him of the arrest. He said that an arrest doesn’t affect an employee’s status. A conviction, on the other hand, could.
Note: An early version of this story contained a factual error about the woman’s criminal record. The state judicial website does not contain any record of the woman having a criminal conviction.
The sooner the better the city cuts her loose. Sounds like Mr. Smart doesn't want to play by the rules so he creates a fictitious job.