Director of Human Resources
City of Gahanna
On November 8th, voters are being asked to approve an update to the City of Gahanna’s Charter that will better define the role of the City’s Civil Service Commission in relation to Gahanna’s Human Resources department. We are asking that voters support this effort and pass Issue #47.
When the Civil Service Commission was originally created, the City did not have a Human Resources Department and the Commission was tasked with performing traditional personnel duties including hiring, removing and disciplining of employees as well as hearing appeals on any of those same personnel decisions.
With the creation of a professionally managed Human Resources department in 2001, the role of the Civil Service Commission evolved. Many of the original functions of the Commission are now provided or conducted by the Department of Human Resources.
The revised duties of the Civil Service Commission would be refined to better define their role as an appellate board; hearing appeals in regards to the hiring, removing and disciplining of employees as performed by the Human Resources department. The Human Resources Department would still be required to follow the Civil Service rules and regulations. This approach is preferred as a best practice so that the Civil Service Commission is not hearing appeals on their own decisions.
Approving Issue #47 will formalize the way in which the Gahanna Department of Human Resources and the Civil Service Commission work together. Issue #47 helps maintain the City’s established hiring practices while preserving employees’ protection under the Civil Service.
We hope that voters will consider the benefits of this change and vote yes for Issue #47 on November 8th.
For information about all four Charter Change Ballot issues, click here.
