Rules and plans of municipal and county Civil Service Commissions

Alphabetic by name of government unit; occasionally material for a city will be filed under the county (e.g. Poughkeepsie rules and regulations are filed under Dutchess County).

Since 1899 the State Civil Service Commission has been responsible for reviewing and approving municipal civil service commission rules and regulations. In 1941 the Municipal Services Division was created in the Department of Civil Service to assist municipal commissions in the establishment of rules and regulations, positions, classification plans and other civil service matters. Municipal Commissions now exist in cities, counties, a few towns, and the Port of New York Authority.

This series was originally created by the State Civil Service Commission's Secretary and after 1941 was maintained by the Municipal Services Division. Each file contains most if not all rules, regulations and classification plans ever adopted by a municipality and related correspondence and memoranda.

Some files contain records dating from 1899, when the first city rules and regulations were approved by the State Commissioner. The rules and regulations cover all aspects of municipal civil service operations, including the municipal commission's organization and operation, examinations, appointments, and policy. Rules and regulations contain information on how a municipal civil service system operated in theory and on how municipal civil service administration changed over time.

A position classification plan for a given municipality lists all job titles in each jurisdictional classification (i.e. exempt, labor, unclassified, and classified service). Before 1940 plans were usually included as part of the rules and regulations. After that date, however, they are usually in separate binders and usually include more detailed information, such as duty statements for all positions and rosters listing employees' names and salaries.

Correspondence and memoranda contained in these files mostly concern the adoption, approval, or modification of rules and plans, or the classification of individual positions or groups of positions.

At the beginning of the series are a few files containing model municipal rules and regulations and State Commission resolutions concerning the five counties (Chautauqua, Rockland, Essex, Sullivan, and Tompkins) whose civil service system was State administered until 1965. At the end of the series are classification plans and classification surveys for certain school districts (see container list). The surveys consist of forms describing the duties of every employee of the district along with related correspondence and memoranda.

Series B0508, Amendments to Municipal Civil Service Commission rules, contains related records.

Container list.

Municipal Services Division reserves right to borrow files for up to 30 days.