Brief

The Mayor has submitted a request to exempt a Deputy City Engineer II position in the Bureau of Engineering from standard hiring procedures. The Personnel and Hiring Committee waived consideration of the item on May 21, 2026, effectively allowing the exemption to proceed without detailed committee review. The file remains open and is set to expire in May 2028.

Full summary

Mayor Karen Bass submitted this request on behalf of the Bureau of Engineering, asking City Council to exempt one Deputy City Engineer II position from civil service hiring rules under City Charter Section 1001(b), which allows up to 150 city positions to be filled outside the standard civil service process as management, professional, scientific, or expert services roles. If approved, this would be the 132nd of those 150 allowed exemptions, with 130 already approved and one other currently pending Council action. The position carries significant executive responsibilities. The Deputy City Engineer II can stand in for the City Engineer in formal reporting to the Mayor's Office, City Council, the Board of Public Works, and the Municipal Facilities Oversight Committee, and can represent the City Engineer in negotiations and meetings. The role also oversees Bureau operations in the City Engineer's absence and provides executive-level supervision over professional engineers and architects at the Principal and Division Head level. Candidates must hold a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or Architecture, be registered with the California State Board as a Professional Engineer, and have at least four years of professional engineering or architectural experience at the Principal Civil Engineer or Principal Architect level. The Bureau argues the civil service exemption is needed to give it flexibility to recruit and select the best-qualified candidate with the specialized experience this senior leadership role demands. Mayor Bass approved the Bureau's request after review by the Personnel Department, then transmitted it to City Council as required by Charter Section 1001(b)(1). The file was referred to the Personnel and Hiring Committee on May 14, 2026, which waived consideration one week later, allowing the exemption to move forward without a committee hearing. The file remains open and pending full Council action. Under the terms of the Mayor's approval, if the exempt position is not filled within six months, the authorization to hire may expire.

Activity (3)

• 2026-05-21 Personnel and Hiring Committee waived consideration of item .
• 2026-05-14 Mayor document(s) referred to Personnel and Hiring Committee.
• 2026-05-14 Document submitted by Mayor, dated May 14, 2026.

Documents (1)

• 2026-05-14 Report from Mayor · report