Files and hearing transcripts of investigations of the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Civil Service Commissions

This series consists of files and hearing transcripts produced during various investigations of the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Civil Service Commissions' administration of examinations. The series contains four subseries which are described below.

Transcript of Proceedings in the Case of James Clancy against the Municipal Civil Service Commission of the City of Niagara Falls, 1912. This subseries consists of a bound transcript of proceedings before the State Civil Service Commission in a case concerning alleged improper scoring of an examination for filtration plant operator. The transcript contains the presentations of the case by attorneys for Clancy and the Municipal Commission, the testimony of witnesses, and the State Commission's final determination.

Transcript of Proceedings in the Case of Loretta B. Stanton against the Municipal Civil Service Commission of the City of Buffalo, 1912. This subseries consists of a bound transcript of proceedings before the State Commission in a case concerning the alleged improper removal of Stanton from an eligible list for Superintendent of a detention home. The transcript contains the same type of material described in the previous subseries.

Transcripts of Hearings in the Investigation of the Administration of the Civil Service Law and Rules of the City of Buffalo, particularly with Reference to Examination for the Position of General Clerk, 1914. This 1914 investigation concerned the alleged leakage of questions on examinations administered by the Buffalo Civil Service Commission. The subseries includes three bound transcripts of hearings held before the Aldermanic Investigating Committee of the City of Buffalo and one bound transcript of hearings before the State Commission. The Aldermanic Committee's transcripts, submitted to the State Commission as supporting evidence, include the testimony of municipal commission members, eligibles and city employees and the discussion of exhibits (copies of exhibits are not included). The transcript of the State Commission hearings contains similar material. The subseries does not include the State Commission's final determination of the case, which can be found along with additional information on the investigation in series B0500, State Civil Service Commissions Meeting Minutes.

Investigation of Examinations Conducted by the Buffalo Civil Service Commission, 1938. This investigation was undertaken at the request of the Buffalo Commission, then under investigation by the City for alleged misconduct in the administration of examinations. The investigators studied the Municipal Commission's practice between 1932 and 1938 and reviewed examinations for eleven city positions. Records in the subseries are a correspondence file and the investigators' report to the State Commission. The correspondence file contains letters to and from the State Commission and the Municipal Commission, the Mayor, the City Council and the Governor. The correspondence relates to the Municipal Commission's request for an investigation, the City's investigation and legal proceedings against the Municipal Commission, and the State Commission's investigation. The investigators' report describes the scope and methods of the investigation, the administration of the examinations reviewed and ratings received by candidates. The report also contains exhibits including examination announcements, questions, model answers, answers of candidates, transcripts of oral examinations, and statistical tables. The report does not include recommendations by the investigators. Information on the State Commission's final disposition of the investigation can be found in its Meeting Minutes.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.