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in this fiscal year to cover these 4 Lieutenant vacancies. Given this, a substantial change has to be made to the current promotions process. To address this issue, the County has proposed in ¶18.03 (new) that once the number of employees on a promotions eligibility list drops below 3 candidates, the Emergency Services Director has the discretion to appoint a qualified employee to the position who is not on the list. This will both allow the Division to bypass undesirable candidates, such as those with a disciplinary history, and allow the District to avoid overtime when the eligibility list is exhausted. To alleviate any that unqualified individuals would be selected, the County has added in the requirement that the individuals appointed must be eligible to work out of classification in the higher position. These individuals have gone through a process to be qualified to do so, and have actual experience working in the higher position. Additionally, to avoid any concern that selections will be made based on favoritism, the County has included criteria that will be considered in making the appointments. Lastly, the County has agreed not to force anyone to accept a promotion, and will go outside the organization for the promotion only after 3 qualified individuals decline the promotion. This should alleviate any legitimate concerns that Local 2201 has. Regarding the other proposed change in 1[18.03 (new), the current system of the Promotion Board reconvening every time a new vacancy occurs is inefficient and a waste of resources (the Board members are being paid while convening). The County has proposed that the Promotion Board rank all of the eligible candidates during its initial meeting, which is clearly more efficient than the current process. Local 2201 has offered no reason why this proposal should not be adopted. Turning to the proposed changes in 118.08 (newly numbered) and 18.09 (newly numbered), the County also proposes to modify the points system used in the promotions process. Prior to a Memorandum of Agreement entered into by the parties in 2012, Article 18 contained a system of points that were added to or subtracted from employees' promotional exam scores for things such as education and discipline. Since that time, the Division has seen a decline in employees seeking educational opportunities and a rise in disciplinary actions. To remedy this, the County has proposed to return to the pre -2012 system with respect to points being added or subtracted for education and discipline. Local 2201 has offered no substantive reason why this proposal should not be adopted. Accordingly, I recommend that the BCC adopt the County's proposal on 118.03 (newly numbered), 18.08 (newly numbered), and 18.09 (newly numbered), attached hereto as Exhibit K. 12 12