The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-06-23

NSoVAAASo OA UAAC CAJlACklS OA WdLGTDuTy than any man that ever sat in the mayors chair.
 It is my earnes5 hope that further and combined effort may result in a civil service system or lasting bene- fit to the city of Waterbury.
 Very truly yours,
 FRANK HAYES,
 Mayor.
 Section 30l-In the appointment of a civil service commission, no stipulation is made as to whether or not the members Of this commits sion shall be citizens of Waterbury, of Connecticut or even of the Uni- ted States. Is this omission intend ed?
 The term "salaried public office" should be more clearly defined. Remocal of any commission for cause is subject to the vote of 2-3 of the board of aldermen. This nulli- fles the provisions of the city char ter which place the power of re- moval in the mayor, and commits sioner, however great might be the l cause.
 Section 302-The commission is given blanket powers in the selec- ton and setting up of personnel department. Unlimited expenditure of funds is provided, with no check on such expense.
 The commission is assumed to have psychic powers in reading the minds of candidates for personnel director because it must interpret his sympathies.
 Any person who could live up to the conditions mentioned as requis- ite for personnel director would be one whose services would be worth far more than any city could af- ford to pay.
 No provision is made for terminat- ing the services of such director if they should not be satisfactory to the commission.
 Section 303-Under this section, the board of public works and pos sibly other boards whose members now receive small salary would be appointed by the personnel di- rector. This is in contradiction to the provisions of the charter. | There are some officials whose work is of such a character as to require a share in the making of policies for such departments as they serve. Among them are the su- perintendent of streets, the health officer, the secretary of the park commission, etc. The police and fire departments are now under the con- trol of the boards of police and fire commissioners. Is 1t intended to place them under the personnel di- rector?
 This section, as now drawn, could give rise to enough litigation to keep the courts busy for years.
 Section 304-Under this Section, the Civil Service Commission is giv- en legislative powers which, under the law, are vested only in the Board of Aldermen.
 Paragraph 3 provides for unlimit- ed expense, because an investigation must be conducted upon petition of "a citizen" It is impossible to es- timate the number of 'cranks" who would avail themselves of this clause. Such provision would com- pletely disrupt the morale of work CTS, because any citizen, for purely personal reasons, could at any time have any employe investigated"
 Paragraph further aggravateS such condition and tends to nullify the present powers of the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor as provid- ed by law.
 Section 305. This section sets up dictatorial powers for the Personnel Director. The powers now given to the Mayor to supervise the work of all departments and employees are transferred to the Personnel Direc- tor. Paragraphs and can cause unlimited expense to the city. Para graphs 2 and 8 open the way for favoritism in the selection of candi- dates for a position in that only the person certified by the Personnel Director may be appointed to any position. Paragraph 10 allocateS to the Personnel Director certain ac- counting duties which by law are vested in the Comptroller. Para graph II again opens the way for countless examinations, investiga- tions and inquiries and strengthens the objections already noted in Sec- tion BOA.
 Section 306-This gives the Per- sonnel Director unlimited control over nearly all persons in the City government. It transfers from the Mayor certain appointments already delegated to the Mayor by law.
 Section 307-Gives to the Person. mel Director, with the approval of the board the right to fix the rate os compensation of any city employe. Provides that such procedure shall be taken on January of each year. when the law requires that the city budget be adopted early in Decem- Der. Under the proposed section, the budget could not possibly be con- pleted at the required time. This section would cause great delay. confusion and litigation. Section 308-This again adds to the expense involved in the plan, be-