In a Letter to the Editor written by Mary Bugeia, Charter Commissioner, urging adoption of the Charter, she states "The Civil Service system was maintained to avoid political influence in hiring and to ensure the practice of the merit principle in all aspects of human resources." The merit principle ensures that City employees are hired and promoted on the basis of merit, not on the basis of who they might support politically.
The Civil Service Commission, according to the Charter, represents the public interest in personnel administration in the City service.
Contrary to what was published in a recent article in a local newspaper, the CSC does have jurisdiction over hiring. The Charter states "all appointments and promotions to positions in the classified service shall be made from appropriate eligible registers of persons who have demonstrated their fitness in competitive examination for the positions sought to be filled." Through the Human Resources Department, the CSC authorizes lists of qualified candidates then chooses from the top three candidates. If the CSC feels that an applicant is not qualified, they can remove them from the list.
The ballot language says "Dearborn is one of a few Michigan cities that still has a Civil Service System."
What it does not say is that civil service systems have historically been linked with "strong mayor" forms of government. When you have the Chief Executive Officer of an organization who is elected by the general population, the opportunities for political patronage exist. Political supporters can be hired or promoted regardless of their qualifications. Larger cities like Grand Rapids, Lansing, Warren, Livonia, and Southfield have civil service systems. Many states and counties have civil service systems to protect against political patronage.