Civil Service Law Helps Protect Against Abuse By Joan Gronowski

 Re "State: Nine Yonkers City Hall appointees must take Civil Service test" (The Journal News article dated June 25, 2009), the state Department of Civil Service rejected Yonkers' request to reclassify the positions of six provisional employees in the mayor's office, seeking to remove these employees from Civil Service testing.

Yonkers withdrew requests to reclassify jobs for seven other provisional employees before the state could rule. One of those seven, mayoral spokesman David Simpson, stated the Yonkers Civil Service Commission planned to "retool the job descriptions for the rejected and withdrawn positions and resubmit them to the state." This can only mean the city may again create new titles for these individuals, which they often do when employees serve past the nine-month maximum.

Simpson praised Yonkers' low rate of provisional employees, noting "the mayor believes he should pick employees he trusts for jobs in his office and not have to rely on Civil Service lists," and "the people who work in the executive office have to deal with a number of sensitive policy matters and political matters." What Mr. Simpson omitted is that the state Civil Service Commission, in denying the exemptions, noted various staff had been around for several years in various titles, further likening these positions to "high level support clerical positions." Their duties were in no way comparable to the confidential city council aides as suggested.

Civil Service law helps ensure taxpayers have a public workforce selected according to merit and fitness. It is the only safeguard preventing politicians from exploiting taxpayer-funded positions.

The author is the Yonkers City Councilwoman representing District 3.

Comments

[Grouch]

How hard are these tests?

Are these people that uneducated that they can't pass a simple civil service test?

Control Board please!!

[anon]

Several months ago Amicone informed the resident's of Yonkers that he had cut his mayoraL STAFF by one-what he failed to tell the public was that he simply shifted that person over to the Yonkers Parking Authority which is used to place all the hacks in Yonkers who need a job and they can fly under the radar.

[Communism sucks in Yonkers]

The Problem is that the Mayor probably can reach out to far places to find people around him that are smarter than he is in respect to things other than civil service issues. If he wants to develope like he claimed to, he needed to hire & impliment more than just himself to key positions of decision making authority. Most of his appointed positions we Cushy Jobs for people who he needed to neutralize ie. Steve Sansone at the BID. Word is, he was quite a blustery opponent of Spencer/Amicone at one point but he learned how to be a great Yes Man when offered a 100k/yr Job to do a lot of nothing.
Lou Kervin knows he needs to use Yonkers to move onto other places. He hates his job here and doesn't care from certain perspectives. A Pataki left over but still on who's clock.
Its OK if the Mayor wants to appoint people for posistions but a resume of perticular knowledge should be required to advise an important position in Yonkers. It a joke now, but it's a thought to consider.
The No Plan, Plan is a waste of our time & efforts. The only recent acitvity downtown seems to be a couple of sidewalk sheds & a lack of leadership. 1st district council sure isn't doing it running her AC in Collins building. She wants to cry "Disaster Area" for Yonkers when she lives on top of the everyday "Disaster Area" of downtown with little or nothing to comment on.

[anon]

simpson worked for the board of legislators, he was incompetent and always tardy, astorino hired him for $300 a week, until hudak begged amicon to hire him

[Permit]

It is a shell game with the Mayor and his people. Moving them from Title to Title to keep the hacks in jobs. VERY SAD!!!

[Communism sucks in Yonkers]

What we have here is a failure to communicate!

[Permit]

Even the Mayor's paper Yonkers Rising is sayings the Mayor and the City have no right for not giving the Rio its permit. New issue came out today!!! The Mayor's spokewomen, David, says the Rio has received complaints but when Rising looked into it the Rio has had NO VIOLATIONS! Get your story straight Boy Toy! GIVE THEM THEIR PERMIT!!!

[Shaved]

Joan is correct once again. Amicone is a huge failure just like his teacher Spencer. This City is the laughing stock of the State.

[A. Non]

Ms. Gronowski is a member of a City Council that is also a laughing stock.

[niceneasy]

all pols are jokes throw them all out starting with the senators

[move to the bronx]

These employees who have to take civil service tests now should be happy. If they pass and become permanent employees hired off a list - it only protects them.
God knows they are all going to need all the protection they can get when the spanos are running the city.

[anon]

no, move the to the bronx. you missed the whole point of the story, which is that they should have been removed from the payroll long ago as illegal employees. the mayor's office has an abundance of acceptable exempt employees, but has sought to create a feifdom with the illegal hiring of even more employees. unfortunately, there is really no oversight at the state level. they go just so far and retreat.

[play by the rules]

I think you may be wrong, Mr. Move to Bronx. I believe the last think this mayor would want is for all of those political hires to actually take and pass a test. He would then be stuck with them. Morever, they wouldn't be subject to political maneuvering as I am sure they are subject to now. Will be interesting to see how he handles this one.

[Communism sucks in Yonkers]

It's a test. adults should not be afraid to take a test to prove they is smart

[Lost in Westchester]

If Amicones puppets do not score in the top three, Then they would not be reachable under Civil Service Law... This reminds me of a former Councilwoman who worked for the Mayor, I believe she refused to take a civil service test.. Although, Her name escapes me at the moment.

[Fed Up]

Restiano....She also changed her mind on the baseball field the day before she got the FEIS and voted for it after preaching against it for at least a year. She then gets given an illegal post at a very large pay check?????No test. No corruption in amiclown town.

[YOFIRE!]

Rising Media... read it. Great article. and you know its telling the truth cause it's Amicone's paper and it tells the truth about the Whiskey Rio.
Fuck You Phil. Why are you trying to kill everyone in Yonkers including small business! Cops, Fire, teachers NOW SMALL BUSINESS.
AMICONE KILLED EVERYTHING SPENCER HELPED TO GROW... even his beard.

[c]

i wish all you big mouths would go take a test. half of you would not pass.

[Fed Up]

c We don't work at a job that REQUIRES the test....and we are not screwing the taxpayers....You and them are!

[STOP the INSANITY]

YOFIRE, Amicone is a clone of Spencer. Spencer is the one who started us down this disastrous road. Amicone made his bones under SPENDER.

[pre-k]

to poster C: If the exams for any Yonkers Civil Service positions are like the ones given in the YPS system then is most likely that a PRE-K student could pass them. C you at best are most likely a functional illiterate who is too stupid to work in the private sector.