A  change  in  reference  to  promotion  examinations  has  success-
fully been  put  into  operation,  whereby  such  examinations  will  be
held  at  one  stated  period  in  the  year,  and  not  as  formerly,  at
desultory  periods  whenever  the  heads  of  the  various  departments
requested  that  such  examinations  be  held.  The  result  has  been  a
uniformity  in  the  holding  of  promotion  examinations  and  a  more
general  knowledge  amongst  the  city's  employees  as  to  when  they
may  expect  to  be  allowed  to  compete  for  promotion.  A  new  stand-
ard of  rating  promotion  examinations  has  also  been  adopted,
80


466  TwENTY-FOUBTH    AnNUAL    EePOET   OF   THE

whereby  a  weight  of  fifty  for  the  mental  examination  and  fifty
for  record  and  seniority,  instead  of  forty,  is  now  given.  This
change  particularly  affects  candidates  for  promotion  in  police  and
fire  departments  in  that  greater  weight  will  be  given  for  record  and
seniority  than  has  prevailed  heretofore.
The  oommission  recently  learned  that  it  has  been  the  practice
of  certain  of  the  departments  to  appoint  persons  to  perform  work
of  an  occasional  and  exceptioual  character  without  first  obtaining
the  consent  of  the  civil  service  commission,  in  violation  of  the
civil  service  law,  and  that  the  pay-rolls  of  sudh  persons  have  been
submitted  to  the  comptroller  for  approval  without  the  certifica-
tion  of  the  commission.  In  cases  where  the  terms  of  appointment
were  extended,  this  practice  seemed  likely  to  give  rise  to  serioufl
abuses,  and  the  commission,  therefore,  within  the  past  month  has
put  into  effect  a  practice  whereby  all  such  appointments  in  future
must  first  obtain  the  approval  of  this  oommission  before  the  pay-
rolls of  such  employees  will  be  passed.
Appeals  and  Tbansfees.
