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Alameda County residents will be voting on a ballot measure this March that aims to reduce the time period that the county announces job openings.
Measure A, which would require a simple majority to pass on the March 5 ballot, would amend a section of the county’s charter — which governs certain county governmental functions — to change the job announcement posting requirement from 25 calendar days to 14.
“In a bid to modernize its hiring practices and stay competitive in the Bay Area job market, the county of Alameda proposes Measure A,” according to the argument in favor of Measure A. “The current 25-day job announcement posting requirement has proven counterproductive, impeding the county’s ability to swiftly attract and hire top-tier candidates.”
According to the Alameda County Counsel’s Impartial Analysis of Measure A, the county’s charter can only be amended with majority voter approval, which is why the measure was placed on the ballot by the county’s Board of Supervisors.
The impartial analysis states that the county’s Civil Service Commission, which is governed by the county’s charter, is in charge of preparing and holding “competitive examinations to test the fitness of all applicants for appointment to or promotion in the classified positions.”
“The county charter section 36(b) currently requires the commission to provide adequate notice but not less than 25 days’ notice of each competitive examination to fill a classified position,” according to the impartial analysis.
According to the argument in favor of Measure A, of which Board President Nate Miley is listed as one of the authors, the 25-day posting period puts the county at a disadvantage in the competitive job market as it leads to the loss of potential candidates who are sought after by other jurisdictions.
The argument states that the county is recognizing the urgency of adapting to contemporary hiring trends that now involve things like social media, which is why it placed the measure on this year’s ballot.
“Contemporary recruitment methods, such as social media and online platforms, have revolutionized the dissemination of job announcements and streamlined application processes,” according to the argument in favor of Measure A. “The existing 25-day posting requirement is outdated, failing to effectively engage the desired candidate pool.”
However, according to the rebuttal argument against Measure A, reducing the time period that county job announcements are posted for potential candidates to learn about openings and apply from 25 days to 14 is a step in the wrong direction.
The rebuttal against Measure A, which was written and backed by the Alameda County Taxpayers Association, makes the argument that when Alameda County voters amended the charter section 36 from 10 days to the current 25-day job announcement posting period, it was the right thing to do.
It states that the shorter 10-day announcement period was “too short for candidates to learn about the existence of job openings and to apply,” and that the shorter time period favored internal candidates, instead of external candidates.
“Until 1966, that old system favored internal candidates who already worked for Alameda County government and had inside information about job openings,” according to the rebuttal argument. “That discriminated against external candidates, especially Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and women who were underrepresented in Alameda County’s workforce.”
It further states that by the time those external candidates learned about job announcements for the county, it was too late to reply and that by default, those internal candidates would receive the county jobs and promotions.
“Measure A would swing Alameda County back towards that pre-1960s system of favoring insiders and keeping out external candidates from county jobs,” according to the rebuttal argument.
But according to the argument in favor of Measure A, the charter amendment would be a strategic move to align recruitment strategies with modern practices.
“In the face of low unemployment rates and heightened competition for qualified candidates, this amendment helps to ensure the county remains a competitive employer,” according to the argument in favor of Measure A.
“By voting in favor of Measure A, you support a crucial step towards optimizing recruitment and hiring processes,” the argument further states. “This positive change is about more than just reducing the number of posting days; it is about creating an agile, responsive recruitment system that meets the expectations of today’s workforce.”
