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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/07/2022 BOFPC Minutes Village of Mount Prospect Phone 911 E. Kensington Road Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 (847)870-5656 BOARD OF FIRE AND POLICE COMMISSIONERS OPEN SESSION MINUTES March 7, 2022 Police Department Conference Room Chairperson Powers called the meeting to order at 5:46 p.m. Roll Call: James Powers, Chairperson Mark Busse, Commissioner Jeanna Claussen, Commissioner William Knee, Commissioner Excused - Rockne Bork, Commissioner Also Present: John Dolan, Fire Chief Mike Eterno, Police Chief Tom Wang, Deputy Fire Chief Lisa Schillinger, BOFPC Secretary/Executive Assistant CITIZENS TO BE HEARD No one in attendance. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairperson Powers asked for a motion to approve the Open Session minutes of February 7, 2022. A motion was made by Commissioner Knee and seconded by Commissioner Claussen to approve the Open Session Minutes of February 7, 2022. Roll Call: Ayes: Powers, Busse, Claussen, Knee Nays: None Abstain: None Motion Carried FIRE DEPARTMENT UPDATE Chief Dolan informed the Board that he is looking for formal approval for changes in the Fire candidate requirements. There has been a decline in applicants in recent years and the department is addressing this issue with multiple initiatives. Chairman Powers asked about the pay scale in Mount Prospect in relation to other departments in the area. Chief Dolan explained Mount Prospect is on the higher end in the area and according to the contract negotiated last year, are in the top 3 for pay. Commissioner Claussen asked if COVID impacted the ability to acquire the necessary hours and it was stated that waivers were available for such situations and that should have not had much impact. Chief Dolan proposed dropping the 60 hours of college credit requirement. Discussion proceeded by the Board. In addition, it is felt that dropping the requirement would encourage more diversity of applicants. Another possible change could involve preference points. The Board would have flexibility within the already established rules and regulations to change how preference points are awarded to candidates and one suggestion involved additional points for residency to encourage applicants who live within the community. Additionally, Commissioner Knee asked if Chief Dolan had any specific preference point categories he was considering. Chief Dolan mentioned that a total of 30 points may be earned and they can be adjusted and more research would be done to determine which categories could be added. Commissioner Busse asked what Arlington Heights did to adjust rewards points. DC Wang stated they dropped all points except Veteran points, which are required by law. He also said they did receive a lot of quality applicants with their revised process. Chairman Powers stated he was willing to drop the 60 hour education requirement. Commissioner Claussen agreed. 1 Deputy Chief Wang gave an update on the results of Arlington Heights recent experience in dropping the 60 hours of college credit requirement. They had over 400 applicants as a result. Chairman Powers suggested that it’s also possible that more people are returning to work after having been unemployed during COVID. More research will be done before any formal changes are made. Chairman Powers stated that any changes which require amendments to the Rules and Regulations must be made soon, as they require Village Board approval before initiated for any hiring cycle. The department expects to run a test in Fall of 2022. Mention was made of the SAFER grant for which the department applied. The decision is still set for July and when a decision is made, the department will notify the Board. POLICE DEPARTMENT UPDATE ChiefEternoupdated the Board on three recruits in the Academy at SLEA. A quarterly review from the Academy showed th the candidates are doing very well and are set to graduate on April 8. When they return they will be in field training. th Candidate Jonathan Caldero is well into the hiring process and is scheduled for his final test, a polygraph, on March 11. Chief Eterno will likely meet with him next week for an official offer of employment. A police social worker position has been posted and so far 10 applications have been received. Interviews are scheduled thth for March 15and 16 with Chief Eterno participating. Our current social worker, Karyn Nelson, is handling the current caseload, but another social worker is needed to provide afternoon support. The social worker follows up on between 750- 1000 cases each year. Commissioner Busse asked about the requirements for the position. Chief Eterno stated that while there are education requirements, there is not a requirement for experience, although of the candidates who have applied, most also had experience. Chief Eterno explained that the Police Union approached command staff regarding the Sergeants Promotional Process. A meeting was held with command staff and four officers within the department, one from each shift. Productive discussion occurred and a detailed explanation of the process was given to the officers. After feedback, it was determined that the officers desired input in the process. In addition, they would like the examination scores to be carried into the next phase at the assessment center. Currently, the scores are only used to determine who will progress to the assessment center. The Board seemed open to both possibilities. The Board requested the PowerPoint presentation used for the promotional test. Commissioner Claussen asked when we might be initiating the promotion process. It was explained we have one name on the list, and the list expires after three years. A date was not given. CLOSED SESSION Chairperson Powers asked for a motion to go into closed session: a. Personnel 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (1)-The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee to determine its validity. b. Approve Closed Session Minutes of February 7, 2022. A motion was made by Commissioner Claussen and seconded by Commissioner Knee to go into Closed Session at 6:43 P.M. Roll Call: Ayes: Powers, Busse, Claussen, Knee Nays: None Abstain: None Motion Carried Also present: Michael Eterno, John Dolan, Tom Wang, Lisa Schillinger A motion was made by Commissioner Busse and seconded by Commissioner Claussen to return to Open Session at 6:46 P.M. The Board returned to Open Session at 6:46 p.m. Roll Call: Chairperson Powers, Commissioner Busse, Commissioner Claussen, Commissioner Knee Also present: Michael Eterno, John Dolan, Tom Wang, Lisa Schillinger A motion was made by Commissioner Knee and seconded by Commissioner Claussen to remove Candidate A and Candidate B from the Eligibility List based on consideration of the psychological exam and background investigation. Roll Call: Ayes: Powers, Busse, Claussen, Knee Nays: None Abstain: None Motion Carried 2 With no further business, a motion was made by Commissioner Busse and seconded by Commissioner Claussento adjourn the meetingat 6:48p.m. Roll Call: Ayes: Powers, Busse, Claussen, KneeNays: NoneAbstain: None Motion Carried Minutes transcribed by Lisa Schillinger, BOFPC Secretary. 3