On Monday, West Hollywood City Council will review the new hiring procedures they requested from City Hall late last fall, when controversy erupted over the way the city’s new economic development director was recruited.
This policy, detailed in an Administrative Regulation, applies to all regular status (non-temporary/seasonal) positions, including division managers, and extends to at-will executive positions such as department directors, assistant department directors, Deputy City Manager, and Assistant City Manager. It excludes temporary positions, interns and the City Manager role.
The Human Resources Division will be responsible for overseeing the city’s recruitment and selection processes. Their duties include assessing applicants against the role’s criteria, verifying required capabilities and competencies, ensuring efficient use of resources, guaranteeing equitable treatment of applicants, and adhering to City policies and collective bargaining agreements.
The recruitment process for regular status employees will involve several steps. Initially, a Personnel Requisition Request is submitted for approval. Following approval, Human Resources reviews the classification specification with the hiring authority. If no suitable candidates are found on the reinstatement list, the process will move to Lateral/Promotional Recruitment, focusing on internal candidates.
For external recruitment, the Human Resources liaison will work with the hiring authority to develop a recruitment strategy. This includes developing screening criteria, setting recruitment timelines, and creating an advertising strategy emphasizing diversity.
The screening process is meant to ensure candidates meet minimum qualifications and adhere to relevant bargaining agreements or city policies. Post-screening, the most qualified candidates proceed to the selection process, which includes classification-related assessments.
Interview panels coordinated by Human Resources will include internal and external subject matter experts and reflect the organization’s diversity. Confidentiality agreements and conflict of interest declarations will be mandatory for all panel members.
An eligibility list for current and future vacancies will be compiled from the selection process. Human Resources then coordinates division interviews for the hiring authority to fill current vacant positions.
Before extending any employment offer, professional references will be checked, and the starting salary will be determined based on the applicable bargaining unit contract or, for external hires, in consultation with relevant city officials.
Relatives of current employees will be subject to the same recruitment and selection process and are prohibited from being in a direct supervisory/reporting relationship with one another.
For executive positions, the recruitment process may be either internal or external and may involve executive search firms. The selection process for these roles will include several steps, from public announcements to background checks.
In certain situations, the City Manager will have the authority to make interim appointments to ensure the continuation of essential city services. These interim executives will be appointed based on their qualifications and experience and can have their term extended or be offered permanent positions based on their performance.
It is reasonably easy to search the resumes of many in the Planning Department, especially those who interact with Historic Preservation in the development process. They are ill equipped to understand and ethically carry out their responsibilities given their missing and misrepresented qualifications. Even the former Community Development Director, recently retired, although was a nut and bolt qualified planner, was totally oblivious to the obligations described in the Historic Preservation Ordinance and was not open to increasing his knowledge.
Again and again, the financial burdens on the taxpayer are not just salaries, what about the medical and retirement benefits???? All over the state of California, it is the bureaucracy that profits. West Hollywood is a slave to this. Mayors that want state positions, using WH as a springboard to further their blood sucking careers. City Hall directors allowing in developers and real estate mongers. BS. And they do nothing to tend to homeless, drugs (unless you are a marijuana shop), crappy neighborhood streets, Nooooooo cannot do that. Say goodbye to CVS. But we can spend $150,000 for a hideous… Read more »
This is the best, most educated comment on here, right down to the mention of the pink suit. Thank you for your insight.
Yes
Aloha – Unfortunately after our own leadership in being on producer teams for city events over 20 years ago in a different city, West Hollywood is simply appearing progressive but it is #1 city for WHO LIKES WHO power plays. John Erickson is the first example, when we move a City Employee into an Advisory board Member, and back to other Boards and different employees status, are you surprised he is with every powerful money 💰 funding support behind him? If you want boundaries, start at the top, and start with NO ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS ALLOWED IF THEY ARE CITY… Read more »
A bunch of bureaucratic bullpucky to cover up for the fact that the City of West Hollywood has zero enforceable ethics standards. The city attorney should be held accountable for her complete lack of professional obligation to ethics at city hall. The city manager should be fired post haste, except for the reality that a replacement will be to the whims of a council majority hellbent on adhering to a diversity standard completely devoid of professional ability and merit. When one removes oneself from the provincial naivete of West Hollywood, one can see the small minds that think they are… Read more »
Preach.
So in other words, the way it should’ve always been done and is done everywhere else right ?
So how was the recruitment of the city’s economic development director handled????
Favor, for favor is how. Everyone in management knows each other and if you are part of their “click” then you are as good as hired.