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One of the factors in making Michigan more competitive is to make the government more effective. Under the Michigan Constitution, the Michigan Civil Service Commission is given broad and poorly-defined powers. The fourth paragraph in Article XI § 5 of the Constitution states:
"The commission shall classify all positions in the classified service according to their respective duties and responsibilities, fix rates of compensation for all classes of positions, approve or disapprove disbursements for all personal services, determine by competitive examination and performance exclusively on the basis of merit, efficiency and fitness the qualifications of all candidates for positions in the classified service, make rules and regulations covering all personnel transactions, and regulate all conditions of employment in the classified service."Note that the Legislature is not given any authority in setting the standards to be applied.
The continuation of this post provides two emails I have sent to Governor Snyder on the importance of considering an amendment to this section of the Constitution. It also provides six general recommendations for the content of legislation to provide the standards for the Commission.
Don Nordeen
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Please be advised that the writer is not an attorney, and this is not legal advice. The information is based on research on information available in the public domain.
- Key Words: Michigan, Civil Service Commission, reform
Michigan Reform — Civil Service Commission (continued)
| To: | Governor Snyder <rick.snyder@michigan.gov> |
| cc: | "Rep. Greg MacMaster" <GregMacMaster@house.mi.gov>, Senator John Moolenaar <SenJMoolenaar@senate.michigan.gov> |
| Date: | Tue, Feb 14, 2012 at 5:24 PM |
| Subject: | Additional Action Required Re: Public-Sector Unions, Collective Bargaining, Pensions, Health Care, and Governance |
Dear Governor Snyder:
In a previous email, I provided an Excellent Essay on Public-Sector Unions, Collective Bargaining, Pensions, Health Care, and Governance. The email included 6 recommendations for better managing the human resources that keep the legislature involved in a general way.
However, I forgot that the Michigan Constitution grants almost unrestricted power to the Civil Service Commission in Article XI § 5 (duties, lack of standards for the Commission, action by the legislature only by a two-thirds vote):
Fixing government is part of helping to make Michigan competitive. Now is the time to craft an amendment to this section of the Constitution to comprehend today's economic conditions, the interests of state employees, and the interests of the taxpayers who pay the costs and receive the benefits.
"STATE CONSTITUTION (EXCERPT)
CONSTITUTION OF MICHIGAN OF 1963
§ 5 Classified state civil service; scope; exempted positions; appointment and terms of members of state civil service commission; state personnel director; duties of commission; collective bargaining for state police troopers and sergeants; appointments, promotions, demotions, or removals; increases or reductions in compensation; creating or abolishing positions; recommending compensation for unclassified service; appropriation; reports of expenditures; annual audit; payment for personal services; violation; injunctive or mandamus proceedings.
Sec. 5."
Sincerely,
Donald L. Nordeen
Gaylord, Michigan
---------- Forwarded message ----------
| To: | Governor Snyder <rick.snyder@michigan.gov> |
| cc: | "Rep. Greg MacMaster" <GregMacMaster@house.mi.gov>, Senator John Moolenaar <SenJMoolenaar@senate.michigan.gov> |
| Date: | Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 1:09 PM |
| Subject: | Excellent Essay on Public-Sector Unions, Collective Bargaining, Pensions, Health Care, and Governance |
Dear Governor Snyder:
The article by Washington Post editorial writer Charles Lane provides an excellent analysis of issues concerning public-sector unions, collective bargaining, pensions, health care, and governance. These are ongoing issues and require discussion with all stakeholders.
The need for reform is large because the issues will not resolve themselves. The underlying issues with collective bargaining with public-sector unions are summarized in Mr. Lane's paragraphs:
"Of course, collective bargaining in the public sector is inherently
contrary to majority rule. It transfers basic public-policy decisions —
namely, the pay and working conditions that taxpayers will offer those
who work for them — out of the public square and behind closed doors.
Progressive Wisconsin has a robust “open meetings” law covering a wide
range of government gatherings except — you guessed it — collective
bargaining with municipal or state employees. So much for transparency.
Even worse, to the extent that unions bankroll the campaigns of the officials with whom they will be negotiating — and they often do — they sit on both sides of the table."
Even worse, to the extent that unions bankroll the campaigns of the officials with whom they will be negotiating — and they often do — they sit on both sides of the table."
For these and other reasons, I favor legislation that
- defines compensation for state employees in clear, general, descriptive and unambiguous terms (competitive compensation, benefits and retirement with industry for similar positions and qualifications in the private sector, but adjusted for job security),
- requires consideration of compensation, benefits and retirement provided by other states with higher weighting to adjacent states,
- assigns the responsibility for administration to the Civil Service Commission with clearly defined authorities and limitations,
- requires periodic rule making with public input including those from unions concerning the compensation, benefits and retirement schedules,
- requires ongoing independent partial annual audits of
compensation, benefits and retirement schedules against the general and
descriptive requirements in the legislation leading to an audit of all
job positions over a five-year period,
- requires all actions to be subject to freedom of information.
Sincerely,
Donald L. Nordeen
Gaylord, Michigan
- History: Changes are usually identified in the text with the date which facilitates searching by date. Edits are usually noted by add and
deletechanges. - 2012 Feb 17 — Initial Post
- Links: Michigan Reform — Civil Service Commission at [http://curntbk.blogspot.com/2012/02/michigan-reform-civil-service.html]
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Copyright 2005-2012 © Donald L. Nordeen. All Rights Reserved. See Copying Posts on This Weblog.
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Copyright 2005-2012 © Donald L. Nordeen. All Rights Reserved. See Copying Posts on This Weblog.
••• End of Post •••
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