Interim civil service administrator walks council through hiring process, timelines and current recruitment tools
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Summary
Serena Knox described the city’s civil service role, job-posting channels, testing vendors, timelines for public-safety hires and tools to recruit and retain employees, and commissioners and councilors asked about background checks, appeals and potential process modernization.
Serena Knox, interim civil service administrator for Pueblo, presented a detailed overview of the city’s civil service process to the City Council during the work session, describing how positions are posted, screened, examined and certified for hire.
Knox said the Civil Service Commission is mandated by the city charter, protects employee rights, and oversees appeals related to hiring, promotions and discipline. She described the office’s responsibilities — job marketing, applicant sourcing, administering exams, preparing eligibility lists and sending certified lists to HR for interviews.
Knox explained how vacancies are managed and the role of the staffing ordinance: the city’s budget and staffing ordinance establishes authorized positions and pay classifications and must be consulted before filling a vacancy. She said job postings are distributed widely — to roughly 60 sites including military bases, workforce centers and college sites — and promoted on the city’s social media accounts.
On testing and vendors Knox said the city uses a mix of written and performance exams, has a new agreement that allows remote testing through TestGenius, and that applicants are screened for seniority or veterans’ preference after passing exams. She identified SimplyVerified as the city’s primary third-party background-check vendor for most positions and Pinnacle Investigations for police background investigations. Knox said public-safety background checks are more extensive and can lengthen hiring timelines.
Knox provided typical timeframes: promotional hires can take roughly 6–8 weeks from vacancy to start, publicly recruited non-safety positions often take about 8–10 weeks, and public-safety hires that require extensive background checks can take 16–18 weeks. She described steps that add time, including posting rules, appeal periods and union requirements.
Councilors and commissioners asked detailed questions about background-check disqualifiers and appeals. Knox said a felony conviction does not automatically disqualify an applicant from all city positions; automatic bars exist for some roles (for example certain convictions that preclude a commercial driver's license or police certification). Knox also said the civil service commissioners are an elected, independent body that hears appeals, which she and others described as a safeguard against conflicts of interest if HR and departments conducted all hiring and discipline functions.
Council members suggested potential process improvements, including more frequent Civil Service Commission meetings or shortening historic mail-based timing requirements; staff said some mayoral directives have already allowed faster cycles for police hiring. Knox also described new recruitment tools (an "Attract" sourcing system and QR-code outreach) and noted recruitment successes at CSU Pueblo, Fort Carson and veteran-focused events.
Ending: Knox closed by reiterating the civil service office’s role as a workforce safeguard and committing to assist councilors who want further briefings on specific hiring timelines or appeals procedures.