****************Amendment Issued March 22, 2017*************

See change under Residence Requirements

Residence Requirements:

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS:  CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT.  Preference may be given to successful candidates who have been residents of the municipality in which the appointment is to be made for one month preceding the date of the certification of the eligible list and who are residents of the municipality at the time of appointment.  Non-residents may be required to become a resident of the appointing municipality if local law so states.

There is one current vacancy in the Town of Cheektowaga  and the starting salary is $21.93 per hour.  (*Salaries vary among municipalities and districts.) The eligible list resulting from this examination will be used to fill this vacancy and other appropriate vacancies which may occur in municipalities or districts under the jurisdiction of Erie County Civil Service while this list is active.

****************Amendment Issued March 22, 2017************* There is also one vacancy in the Town of Hamburg and the annual salary is $29,890.  

Examples of Duties:

A Community Development Aide assists in administering low income housing rehabilitation loan and grant programs by screening and interviewing applicants, verifying eligibility,  reviewing cost estimates and contractor selection, assisting with housing inspections,  preparation of loan and/or grant documents;

assists with the municipality’s housing program by collecting and studying data concerning housing activities, maintaining public and private participation through meetings and hearings,  collecting and studying data and assisting with development of new housing programs,  i.e. new construction and rental rehabilitation;

creates and maintains files relating to housing;

checks reports and records for accuracy and completeness;

pulls material from files and conducts file searches;

operates office machines, including computers.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

A. Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a bachelor's degree and six months of experience assisting administrative employees in planning,civil engineering,grant or contract administration,facilities management or community development; or:

B. Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and four years of experience assisting administrative employees in planning,civil engineering,grant or contract administration,facilities management or community development; or

C. An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

Notes:

NOTES: 1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements. 2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

Subjects of examination: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Interviewing

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in obtaining information from individuals through structured conversations. These questions require you to apply the principles, practices, and techniques of effective interviewing to hypothetical interviewing situations. Included are questions that present a problem arising from an interviewing situation, and you must choose the most appropriate course of action to take.

2. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

3. Understanding and interpreting numerical data related to community development and housing

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret numerical data related to community development and housing. The data will be presented in formats such as tables and charts. All the information needed to answer the questions will be provided in the data presented. You may be required to perform basic mathematical functions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and to calculate averages and percentages.

You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone or other electronic devices.

4. Understanding, interpreting and applying housing and community development laws, rules and regulations

These questions test for the ability to understand, interpret, and apply a variety of federal and State housing and community development laws, rules, and regulations. You will be provided with a brief reading selection based on or extracted from a passage of legal text. You must read the selection and then answer one or more questions based on that selection. All the information needed to answer the questions will be provided in the reading selections.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.