REMARKS
Council Member Carmen De La Rosa Opens Oversight Hearing on Optimizing the Municipal Service Exam System
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3 min
Council Member Carmen De La Rosa initiates the oversight hearing to scrutinize and improve the city's municipal service exam system.
- The committee discusses a resolution seeking to adopt a band scoring method for competitive civil service titles.
- The focus is on modernizing the exam system to enhance integrity, equity, and efficacy.
- Challenges highlighted include long waiting times for exam results, financial and access barriers for applicants.
- The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) is tasked with addressing these issues.
- The hearing aims to explore solutions to make civil service exams more inclusive and effective.
Carmen De La Rosa
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Good afternoon.
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I am counsel member Carmen Zarzaurosa, chair of the committee on civil service and labor.
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Thank you for joining today's oversight hearing to explore strategies to optimize the municipal service exam system.
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We will be hearing a pre considered resolution sponsored by majority leader, Farias, calling on the commissioner of city wide administrative services to implement a band scoring method for established eligible list for competitive civil service titles.
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Today's hearing will center on how the city can improve the administration civil service exams to optimize the functioning of the system.
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New York City has been a leader in developing a merit based civil service and yet there is a disconnect between ideal and practice.
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While the exam system should operate to safeguard the integrity of the civil service system, There are numerous opportunities to modernize the process while prioritizing equity and efficacy.
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New York City's Department of Administrative Services, DeCast, is charged with recruiting examinees, administrative exams, maintaining an eligible list of potential hires and communicating with candidates about their eligibility status.
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However, the long period from exam administration to exam results contributes to the city's inability to build, maintain, and quickly replenish its workforce.
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In the 2024 fiscal year, DCAS took a median number of a 169 days to to from exam administration to exam results a decrease from 222 days median in the prior year.
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This discourages applicants who must find other more immediately available work to support themselves, which in turn deprives the municipal workforce of skilled employees.
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Additionally, as our city agencies face budget cuts, heavily.
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Budget cards, they rely heavily on effective retention and promotion of current employees who are well qualified to move upward within their agencies and keep the civil service running effectively.
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There are also opportunities to make this exam system more accessible to New Yorkers looking to enter the municipal workforce.
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The current system excludes applicants who may not have time, freedom of mobility, or digital access to visit a testing site in person or through a reliable Internet connection.
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Additionally, the exam fees can pose a financial barrier to many potential applicants who do not have flexibility in their budget to apply for exams or indeed a bank account from which applicants can cut a check to cover their application fee.
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Applicants who face financial hurdles are also disadvantaged when compared to other applicants who are able to afford prep courses and study materials to to take the the same exam.
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Today, the committee hopes to learn from DCAS what they are doing to address some of these challenges so that they can work towards eliminating so we can work towards eliminating barriers to entering civil service.
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I'd like to thank the committee staff for their hard work in preparing for this hearing.
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Policy analyst Elizabeth Arts and legislative counsel, Ria of Zuwara.
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I'd also like to thank my staff chief of staff James Burke, legislative director Kiana Diaz, and communications director, Frey Familia.
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I would like to know that RIN testimony, which will be reviewed in full by the by the committee staff may be submitted to the record up to 72 hours after the close of hearing by emailing it to testimony at counsel dotnyc.gov.
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We ask that all witnesses who are testifying today abide by the 3 minute time allowance and the days we only on topics related to this hearing.
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Please note that public witnesses are not permitted to film themselves as they testify.
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Nor are they permitted to show prerecorded video as part of their testimony.
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Thank you so much.
