The overview
Introduced by Mayor Chester Drash, the amendment alters the minimum number of days required for the job application to be online before city officials can contact applicants.
Drash said this amendment would allow city officials to contact qualified applicants earlier than 30 days, ensuring these applicants are aware of their candidacy and do not find other employment during the hiring process.
“What I want to do is, if in two weeks, we get a sufficient number of applicants that are qualified, then I want to move on it [and] not wait till 30 days in order to [interview qualified applicants],” Drash said.
Place 5 Council member Glenna Pearce initially argued against the change because the procedures were designed to provide a fair buffer for potential applicants, maintain transparency in the hiring process and avoid rushed decision making.
Place 3 Council member Dale Randol suggested lowering the time limit from 30 days to 21 days, but argued against removing the requirement completely because it may limit the number of applicants the city may receive.
Final takeaways
After continued discussion, the City Council unanimously voted to amend the time limit from a minimum of 30 days to a minimum of 21 days. Though the minimum time limit for job postings was changed, council members stressed that the hiring policies originally initiated in the ordinance would remain the same.
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