Citizen Staff Writer
CARLI BROSSEAU
brosseau@tucsoncitizen.com
Almost 400 applicants for clerical jobs in Tucson city government took a skills test Friday despite a dearth of open positions due to a budget crisis.
The test, leading to a list of civil service candidates, is “normal processing,” Human Resources Manager Tameron Collins said.
The city was testing for a variety of entry-level positions that are normally tested for separately, by category, so Friday’s exam represents savings, Collins said.
The list will prepare the city for hiring when positions are available, he said.
“If we wait until we have authorization to fill the position, there will be two or three months where a department is sitting on a vacancy they need to fill,” he said, adding that these jobs see a high turnover.
The test was within the department’s budget, Collins said, but no estimate of the test’s cost was available.