All applicants for offices or places classified under civil service in the departments herein provided for shall be subject to examination which shall be public, competitive and open to all citizens of the United States who are qualified to take such examination. Such examinations shall be practical in their character and will fairly test the relative capacity of the persons examined to discharge the duties of the position to which they seek to be appointed, and shall include therein appropriate tests of physical qualifications, health and skill. No questions in any examination shall relate to political or religious opinions or affiliations. All examinations shall be made under the control of the commission, from time to time as necessity requires, and shall be held at a time and place designated by the commission for such purpose. Every applicant for entry level examination shall pay the city finance department an examination fee to be set by the civil service commission and shall not be examined until he or she exhibits the receipt therefor. The examination fee shall not exceed the cost of administering the examination.