What do they do?
The Human Resources Department for the City is much like the Human Resources departments of most organizations; it hires qualified employees, trains them, and handles administrative functions for them such as employee rights, employee information, union relations, and payroll. There are roughly 9,000 workers for the City of Detroit.
The Civil Service Commission heads the Department and is a five member board, half of which is appointed by the Mayor and the other half by City Council. The fifth seat on the board is appointed jointly by the two bodies.
The commission has investigatory powers and is able to administer hearings around problems or accusations that may arise from a dispute involving a Detroit City employee.
How is the Department Organized?
These divisions comprise the department:
- Employee Services
- Payroll
- Recruitment
- Talent Development and Performance
- Labor Relations
- Classification and Compensation
- Policy, Planning and Operations
How do I get involved?
Human resources involves mostly confidential information since it’s connected to individuals’ employment records.
However, there are still a few ways to get involved with the city’s Human Resources Department:
- Review job postings and get a sense of how the city is staffing its departments; use this information in your advocacy
- Share the city’s job postings with excellent candidates so that the City of Detroit can find the best and brightest workforce.
Finally, appointed roles like those on the civil service commission are available for average Detroiters like you. Learn more about appointed positions in Chapter 3 Lesson 5.