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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/13/2015 COW Minutes COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES January 13, 2015 I. CALL TO ORDER – ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. in the Village Board Room of the Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street, by Mayor Arlene Juracek. Trustees present included Paul Hoefert, John Korn, John Matuszak, Steven Polit, Richard Rogers and Michael Zadel. Staff present included Acting Village Manager David Strahl, Human Services Director Julie Kane, Human Services Deputy Director Jan Abernethy, Community Connection Center Coordinator Victoria Bran and Administrative Analyst Alexander Bertolucci. II. APPROVAL OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 25, 2014 Motion made by Trustee Polit seconded by Trustee Zadel. Minutes were approved. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD None IV. HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT UPDATE – 2015 Acting Village Manager Strahl stated Human Services Director Kane replaced the department’s long serving director just short of a year ago and wanted to afford the new director an opportunity to present her plans for the department. He stated the presentation will also include a discussion on the conversion of the two Community Connection Center Intake Worker/Receptionist part time positions to one full time position. Human Services Director Kane stated the presentation will provide an update on 2014 activities, address current needs of the community and discuss department staffing. She stated the department began tracking direct service statistics in April 2014 and this data is reviewed on a monthly basis. She stated the department was able to evaluate and adjust services based on trends identified by the collected service statistics. She stated during 2014 the department made the following adjustments, increased staff hours at the Community Connection Center (CCC), changed from quarterly to monthly food pantry distributions, enhanced outreach to the senior population and expanded advocacy services for domestic violence victims. She stated the department will continue to track direct service statistics in 2015 and will also transition to a new client software program that will provide a centralized mechanism for client record keeping, additional statistical reports and a reduction in paper files. Human Services Deputy Director Abernethy stated she would present Mount Prospect’s demographics, services statistics and community needs. She stated according to the U.S. Census statistics Mount Prospect’s senior population increased 5.8% and the foreign born population increased 15.9% between the years of 1990 and 2010. She also stated that of the Village’s total population 38.5% are foreign born 01/13/15 Committee of the Whole Page 1 of 3 residents of which 15% represent Hispanic nationalities and the remaining 23% represent all other nationalities. She stated the department experienced an increase in seniors’ applications for state and federal food and health assistance programs. She stated that they have witnessed an increase of seniors that lack financial resources to pay for medical care and prescription drugs as they stretch their personal budgets to pay for food. She stated that in order to assist the Village’s senior residents the food pantry distribution policy was changed from quarterly to monthly distributions. She stated that residents of the two newly built assisted living housing developments also use the department’s services. She stated the department continues to help seniors understand and assist with applications for state and federal programs such as Medicare Part D and the Illinois Medicare and Medicaid Alignment Initiative. She stated in September 2014 the Police Department started to notify Human Services of all domestic violence arrests and this has resulted in a 50% increase of staff time dedicated to court advocacy. She stated in addition the department will continue to cross-train staff and promote continual education for cultural competency to further provide employees the ability to serve in multiple capacities within the department and community. CCC Coordinator Bran presented the proposed staffing changes at the CCC. She stated the CCC opened in 2009 and the original staffing plan was to hire two full time employees that would have included a social worker and a receptionist. She stated that due to the economic recession the receptionist position was restructured to two part time positions. She stated the two part time receptionists that have been with the CCC since it opened both resigned this year. She stated it took about 4 months to fill the first vacancy with a qualified replacement as the position requires an individual who is fully bilingual, can handle crisis situations, assess needs and provide referrals to residents. She stated there is a concern that the current part time receptionist position will have an impact on the pool of potential candidates and the ability to retain employees. She stated that staff turnover affects operations and requires other staff members to be assigned to the CCC. She stated that the proposed full time position would result in an overall increase of approximately $13,000 over what has been spent on this position in the past. Mayor Juracek stated the presentation highlighted the depth of issues that the department and the community are facing and opened the floor for discussion. General comments from the Village Board members included the following items: There was general discussion regarding the growth in service requests and how the department will make adjustments to accommodate the most pressing needs. There was clarification on how converting the two part time positions to a one full time position would not create a part time vacancy and as to why the proposed staffing change was not presented during the 2015 budget discussions. There was general support for how Human Services collaborates with other departments to address issues that would not present themselves to community agencies on their own. There was a discussion regarding residents that live alone, opportunities for senior shared housing and physicians making home visits. There was general discussion on translation devices and software. It was noted that the Human Services department’s budget has remained relatively flat and they find innovate ways to preform, but there was concern on how the department will determine when service requests exceed resources. 1/13/15 Committee of the Whole Page 2 of 3 There were general questions regarding the new client tracking software that included compatibility with existing enterprise resource planning software, confidentially safeguards, and the department’s information technology needs. There was a discussion on the programs offered at the CCC, Mount Prospect Public Library South Branch and by partner organizations that utilize the facility. There was a discussion on how the department may limit the Village’s exposure to risks associated with paramedic services and emergency calls. It was noted that the service request statistics from assisted living developments would be useful to further review future assisted living housing opportunities. There was a general discussion about the Rolling Meadows courthouse hours of operation and civil court advocates. There was a discussion on mental health care resources and the impact to the Village residents and service requests. There were questions related to if other municipalities have Human Services departments or provide comparable services. There was general support of how the department implemented the service satisfaction survey and service adjustments based on survey results. There was general consensus by the Village Board to approve the conversion of the two part time receptionist positions to one full time receptionist position. Acting Village Manager Strahl stated the Human Services department’s presentation addressed elements of the Strategic Plan in the following areas, Governance-Quality Service-Provide high-value, relevant municipal services. The next strategic plan discussion is on January 27, 2015 and the topic is economic and community development. V. MANAGER’S REPORT None VI. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Mayor Juracek stated she spoke with the Village’s sister city Sevres, France and has shared our concern with respect the recent tragedy in France. VII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:53 p.m. ALEXANDER BERTOLUCCI Administrative Analyst 1/13/15 Committee of the Whole Page 3 of 3