Philadelphia, December 30, 2009 ?Today, Mayor Michael Nutter appointed Pedro Rodriguez to the Civil Service Commission. He joins Lynda Orfanelli and Doris Smith on the three member panel. Mr. Rodriguez will serve a six year term, starting January 3, 2010.
“I am pleased that Pedro accepted my appointment to the Civil Service Commission,” said Mayor Nutter. “As a community leader, educator, and former City employee, he will have a valuable perspective on the issues that the Commission addresses.”
The Civil Service Commission is composed of three members appointed by the Mayor from among persons whose names are submitted by the Civil Service Panel, as set out in the Home Rule Charter. The principal responsibilities of the Commission are to serve as an appellate tribunal for employee appeals; to rule on proposed changes to the Civil Service Regulations and the Classification and Pay Plans; and to rule on requests for exemptions from civil service and waivers of the residency requirement. It is also the responsibility of the Commission to appoint the Personnel Director. The Commission advises the Mayor and the Personnel Director on matters concerning personnel administration in City service and upholds the interest of the merit-based civil service system.
“I am very honored to have been appointed to the Commission and look forward to working with Lynda and Doris,” said Mr. Rodriguez. “Like the Mayor, I believe in the importance of public service.”
The Commission holds employee hearings weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 10:00 a.m. to conclusion; these meetings are open to the public. The Commission also meets weekly with the Personnel Director. Compensation for Commissioners is set at $100 per meeting ($125 for the Chairperson), to a maximum of 175 meetings per fiscal year.
Commissioner Bio:
Pedro Rodriguez is the interim Director of the Open Boarders Project (Proyecto Sin Fronteras,) a Huntington Park based organization that runs community programs such as English classes, computer courses and after-school programs. From 1997-2007, Mr. Rodriguez worked at the Action Alliance of Senior Citizens, a group committed to the issues of the elderly, first as a Legislative and Healthcare Organizer before becoming the Executive Director. Before that Mr. Rodriguez was involved in City government serving as the Assistant Director of Philadelphia Empowerment Zones under Mayor Rendell and the Legislative Director for City Councilman Dan McElhatton. He is also active in his community, having served as an AIDS educator with Congreso de Latinos Unidos and as an associate editor of the weekly Community Focus/Enfoque Comunal, the largest bilingual newspaper in Pennsylvania. He has been a teacher of Spanish for the last 11 years, part time, at the Spanish Language School in Center City Philadelphia.
Mr. Rodriguez is married to Pamela Waltz and has two children, Anatolia, who is a graduate of Philadelphia University, and Daniel.
