Texas Civil Service Testing
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The Texas civil service testing process is a prerequisite to both fire and police sector positions as a way of ensuring an unbiased selection process. Civil service examinations consist of basic and/or advance arithmetic, money handling, word problems, and interpretation of graphs and statistics and focuses an abundant deal language skills. After the exam is administered, a chronologically ordered list is compiled based on candidate scores.
Civil service testing was intended as an alternative to the patronage system.
In order to be considered as a civil service department:
- A city must have a population of 10,000 or more, as determined either
by the most recent federal decennial census, or
by a more recent annual population estimate from the Texas demographer under Chapter 468.
- The city must pay its police department, its fire department or both (143.002(a)(1)(B)).
- At least 10 percent of registered voters in the city must have signed a petition to adopt Texas Chapter 143 (143.002(a)(1)(A)). A majority of votes is sufficient (143.004(c)).
- Subsection 143.002(c) of provides that a civil service department will not be affected if the municipality’s population changes to no longer meet the population requirement. This appears to apply starting when the election to adopt occurs.
- If at least one year has passed since the city adopted Texas Chapter 143, then a petition to require a popular vote to reverse that adoption may be validated by vote of at least 10 percent of registered voters in the city (143.004(e)) who also comprise 20 percent of the number of voters who voted in the most recent municipal election. If it is validated, the item to reverse adoption must appear on at the next municipal general election ballot. (143.004(d)). A majority of votes is sufficient (143.004(c)).˜˜˜˜