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. There is one present vacancy at the Erie County Department of Personnel. 

Examples of Duties:

A Senior Payroll and Roster Clerk supervises the operations of the payroll roster clerk section, reviewing work of subordinates for accuracy, timeliness and conformance to procedure;

Supervises the operations of the payroll roster clerk section, reviewing work of subordinates for accuracy, timeliness and conformance to procedure;

Supervises and performs the following activities: verifies and approves PO-1s, Personnel Appointment or Change Authorizations, ensuring that infomation is accurate as to vacancy of position, appropriateness of salary and completion of physical examination, where required;

Checks time and attendance forms for accuracy and completeness including such items as hours worked, expiration of appointments, and leaves without pay, payments for accumulated benefits (vacation) in final paycheck and other infomation relative to enployee payroll and appointment status;

Posts infomation to employee roster cards regarding appointment status, salary, physical examinations, address, marital status etc.;

Maintains a variety of records and files related to employee appointment and salary histories; 

Conducts annual certification of payroll to ensure accuracy of payroll data;  maintains roster card file and alphabetical employee file;

Posts annual and semi-annual pay rate adjustnents and incremental increases;

Instructs and informs County payroll clerks on proper appointment procedures and payroll division requirements:

Verifies employment inquiries received-by phone and letter;

Assists Personnel Office staff regarding payroll and employment matters.

Qualifications:

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

Graduation from high school, or possession of a high school, equivalency diploma, and five years office experience, three years of which involved maintaining payroll records, reports and employee roster cards.

Notes:

NOTE: Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

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 'General Guide to Written Tests' helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at:https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.

Subjects of Examination:

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

Name and number checking

These questions test for the ability to distinguish between sets of words, letters, and/or numbers that are almost exactly alike. Material is usually presented in two or three columns, and you will have to determine how the entry in the first column compares with the entry in the second column and possibly the third. You will be instructed to mark your answers according to a designated code provided in the directions.

Operations with Letters and Numbers

These questions test for skills and abilities in operations involving alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting. The questions require you to follow the specific directions given for each question which may involve alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting given groups of letters and/or numbers.

Arithmetic computation with calculator

These questions test for the ability to use a calculator to do basic computations. Questions will involve addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. You may also be asked to calculate averages, to use percents, and to round an answer to the nearest whole number. 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.

Supervision

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

Working with office records

These questions test your ability to work with office records. The test consists of two or more sets of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of numerical data from several sources; maintaining a record system using running balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals, averages and percents. 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.

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.