This measure appeared on the May 17, 1988 PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOT.

 

REVISES RESIDENCE PROVISIONS FOR APPOINTED CITY OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

 

Question: Shall Charter residency requirement be repealed and replaced with authority to establish a preference system or residence requirement by ordinance?

 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE: Repeals Charter's requirement that City employees hired after January 1, 1984 must become City residents. Authorizes, but does not require, Council to enact by Ordinance either a system giving preference to City residents in hiring and promotion or a system requiring City residence for new employees. Removing mandatory residency requirement from Charter allows Council to adjust system as conditions or laws change and to provide for hardship situations, which is not possible under present requirement. Keeps requirement that an elected officials must be City residents.

 

Charter Amendment Referred to the Voters by the City Council

 

RESOLUTION NO. 34406 ADOPTED MARCH 2,1988

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Portland, Oregon, that an Act entitled:

 

AN ACT

 

An Act to amend an Act of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon entitled: "An Act to incorporate the City of Portland, Multnomah County, State of Oregon, and to provide a charter therefor, and to repeal all Acts or parts of acts in conflict therewith," approved by the Governor and filed in the office of the Secretary of State,january23.1903, as subsequently amended by said Legislative Assembly and by the people of the City of Portland from time to time by amending Section 2-611 (Residence of Officials and Employees) and Section 4-301 (Recruitment, Selection and Promotion; Criteria; Procedures; Duties of the Director) to revise the residence provisions for appointed officers and employees.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF PORTLAND, OREGON

 

Section 1. "An Act to incorporate the City of Portland, Multnomah County, State of Oregon, and to provide a charter therefor, and to repeal all Acts or parts of Acts in conflict therewith," approved by the Governor and filed in the office of the Secretary of State, January 23, 1903, as subsequently amended by said Legislative Assembly and by the people of the City of Portland from time to time hereby is amended by amending Sections 2-611 (Residence of Officials and Employees) and Section 4-301 (Recruitment, Selection and Promotion; Criteria; Procedures; Duties of the Director) as follows.

 

Section 2-611. Residence of Officials and Employees. All elected officials receiving salary or wages from the City shall qualify as elsewhere in this Charter provided, and shall be residents of the City at the time of their election and continuously thereafter while they hold office. The Council may require by ordinance that appointed officers and employees who begin City employment after the effective date of the ordinance be or become City residents. Violation of a residence requirement enacted pursuant to this section shall be cause for demotion, suspension, or termination of an officer or employee, if so provided by Council. The Council may provide by ordinance that applicants for appointment or promotion in the classified service of the City be given preference for appointment or promotion if they are residents of the City at the time o f application. [Other officers and employees appointed and continuously employed by the City before January 1, 1984, are not required to reside within the City and their employment shall not be prejudiced or benefitted because of their place of residence. Except as hereinafter provided, other officers and employees who begin City employment on or after January 1, 1984, shall be or become City residents asfollows.

 

(a) The Council may require any temporary employees to be City residents at the time of their employment.

 

(b) Persons appointed to positions not in the classified service shall be City residents o rbecome City residents within six(6)months after their appointment.

 

(c) Persons appointed to positions in the classified service shall be City residents or become City residents within six (6) months after their probationary period.

 

(d) Persons whose place of employment is more than ten (10) miles outside the city boundaries may reside outside the City and they shall not be required to reside within the City while they thereafter remain City employees.

 

Officers and employees who are required by this Section to be or become City residents shall remain city residents during the period of their employment. Violation of this Section is cause for removal or discharge of any officer or employee of the City.]

 

Section 4-301. Recruitment, Selection and Promotion; Criteria; Procedures; Duties of the Director.

 

1. Recruiting, selecting and promoting employees shall be on the basis of relative ability, knowledge, experience and skills, determined by open competition and consideration of qualified applicants, without regard to race, color, religion, marital status or other non-job related factors[.] except for City residence if residents are given preference pursuant to Section 2-611 of this Charter.

 

2. The Director shall establish procedures for recruitment and selection which shall include adequate public notice, affirmative action to seek out under-utilized members of minority groups or women where they are under-utilized, and job related testing.

 

3. Competition for specific positions may be limited to facilitate employment of those with a substantial physical or mental impairment or for purposes of implementing a specific affirmative action program.

 

4. Appointments to positions in the classified service shall be made on the basis of qualifications and merit by selection from eligible lists established by the Department. To fill a vacancy, the Department shall certify to the appointing authority the names of the five (5) eligible candidates standing highest upon the register for the classification. Scores may be banded where no statistically significant difference exists between candidate scores on an examination.

 

5. Non-competitive selection and appointment procedures may be used for unskilled or semiskilled positions, or where job related ranking measures are not practical or appropriate. Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent the Director from adopting selection procedures which follow the principles of "apprenticeship and training" as an alternative to written tests. Where "apprenticeship and training principles are utilized, minimum qualifications and performance requirements and duties of a classification may be appropriately modified to permit appointment and promotion of trainees to positions normally filled at full proficiency level.

 

6. The Department shall establish systems to provide opportunities for promotion through training, education and career development assignments in addition to the regular competitions by examination.

 

NOTE: Matter in bold face in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.