Like many municipalities, Alpharetta prohibits having related people work for the city where there could be the appearance of conflicts of interest or favoritism. But the rule, applied unthinkingly, can prevent the hiring of the best qualified candidate for a job, officials say.
The City Council recently voted to amend the employee handbook so a department director can, in certain instances, file an appeal of the policy with the assistant city administrator and city administrator. They now can allow hiring someone “whose relational status would cause a literal violation of the policy … (but) not violate the spirit or intent of the policy,” according to a staff report.
Under the policy adopted in 2009, someone working in, say, the Municipal Court could not be related by blood, marriage or adoption to an employee of the Department of Public Safety. This was intended to prevent a police officer having a relative with access to court records. But a firefighter candidate with a relative in the court also could be disqualified.
Before, there was no recourse to the literal application of the policy, the staff report said. The amended rule applies to job candidates and present employees.
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