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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/05/2001 BFPC minutes Village of Mount Prospect 112 E. Northwest Highway Mount Prospect. Illinois 60056 BOARD OF FIRE AND POLICE COMMISSIONERS Phone 847/870-5656 Ext. 303 MINUTES June 5, 2001 PRESENT: CHRISTOPHER LENZ, ChaiIman CLAUDE BJORK, Commissioner ROBERT McKILLOP, Commissioner CLYDE BROOKS, Commissioner MICHAEL FIGOLAH, Fire Chief MATHEW CANNING, Captain, Training Officer EXCUSED: MARIE COTTEN, Commissioner Chairman Lenz called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. Due to the absence of Secretary Marie Cotten from the evening's meeting, a motion was made by Commissioner McKillop and seconded by Commissioner Brooks to make Commissioner Bjork Acting Secretary for the evening's meeting. Ayes: Lenz, Bjork, McKillop, Brooks Nays: None Motion carried. A motion was made by Commissioner Brooks and seconded by Commissioner Bjork to accept the minutes of the open meeting of April 4, 2001. Ayes: Lenz, Bjork, Brooks Nays: None Abstain: McKillop Motion carried. A motion was made by Commissioner Bjork and seconded by Commissioner Brooks to accept the minutes of the Executive Session of April 4, 2001. Ayes: Lenz, Bjork, Brooks Nays: None Abstain: McKillop Motion carrie,d. Chairman Lenz reported that Police Officer Lawrence Kane resigned from the Police Department to accept a position as a Firefighter with the Glenview Fire Department. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON & SECRETARY In accordance with the BOFPC Rules & Regulations requirement of an annual election of a chairperson and a secretary, Commissioner Brooks made a motion to re-elect Christopher Lenz as BOFPC Chairman. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Bjork. . Ayes: Lenz, Bjork, McKillop, Brooks Nays: None Motion carried. A motion was then made by Commissioner McKillop and seconded by Commissioner Bjork to re-elect Commissioner Cotten as BOFPC Secretary. Ayes: Lenz, Bjork, McKillop, Brooks Nays: None Motion carried. REVIEW OF FIRE DEPARTMENT PROMOTION TEST Fire Chief Figolah requested a change to the BOFPC Rules & Regulations regarding Fire Lieutenant promotional testing. He explained that currently the Rules require a candidate to have five years on the department to participate in the promotional testing process. Chief Figolah requested that the Rules be amended to require a candidate to have a minimum of Fire Officer I, which means the candidate has passed five 40 hour training courses; Instructor I, Tactics and Strategies, Management I, Management II and Fire Prevention Principles. He would like to make Fire Officer I mandatory effective three years from now, since the Fire Department will probably run another promotional test in one to one and a half years, and people would not have the opportunity to achieve this requirement by then. After some discussion it was decided Chairman Lenz would compose a letter saying this matter has been discussed by the Commission, and at a future date Fire Officer I will be made a requirement for Fire Lieutenant testing. REVIEW OF FIRE DEPARTMENT NEW HIRE TESTING PROCESS Chairman Lenz informed the Commission Chief Figolah is at this time asking for the Commission's approval of the Fire Department's 2001 Proposed New-Hire Test (see attached). Two corrections were made on the schedule. Regarding application requirements, the last requirement should read, Certified Illinois Firefighter II and not III, and the schedule should read the applicant must be 21 years of age by August 31, 2001, not September 11, 1999. It was clarified that in order to participate in the testing process an applicant must not be older than 35. Chief Figolah reported the department has been testing every two years and will be ready in early fall for the next test. The current Eligibility List expires November 1, 2001. ChiefFigolah reviewed with the Commission each step of the proposed testing schedule. He indicated BOFPC Attorney Buzz Hill and Village Attorney Steve Rynecki are also currently reviewing the testing process. There was a discussion on whether or not to charge a $15.00 application fee. Chairman Lenz stated he felt this would be another roadblock in attracting applicants at a time when the department is experiencing low turnout for the recruit testing process. Chief Figolah explained the application fee was used in the past to discourage people who were not really interested in the job and seldom showed up to actually participate in the process. This created a lot of unnecessary administrative paperwork. After some discussion it was decided the $15.00 application fee would be dropped for the upcoming test, and reviewed at a later date. Chairman Lenz stated that there should be Commissioners present for the written exam on September 8, 2001. They not only represent the BOFPC, but also can assist by registering applicants and proctoring the exam. A lengthy discussion was held on the physical ability test. Rather than a scored test, Chief Figolah explained the Department of Justice wants a pass/fail. They want what is minimal or acceptable and the department needs minimum standards. He reported he has met with the head of a company out of California that will validate the test with Mount Prospect's existing people and not use the national average, which is very low. This company has provided this validation in major counties in Colorado and California. It is the only company to provide this process, and the head of the company has worked with the Justice Department to establish the validation process and is certified by the Justice Department. It will cost $15,000 for this company to come in and validate the physical ability test, and this money is not in the budget. Chief Figolah reported he met with the Village Manager and explained that he just learned that the current physical ability test is at risk after speaking with an associate of BOFPC Attomey Buzz Hill who specializes in this area. He reported the Village Manager would like to learn more about the company, and the cost would have to be approved by the Village Board, Chief Figolah believes this could be used as a test case, and feels other towns would also be interested. That way rather than have this $15,000 every two years or so, a consortium could be started in the future to help cut down on this expense. In summary, Chairman Lenz stated using the national average is an option, however, the department is a better than average department and the Commission would not want to lower their standards and compromise the department. When this matter goes before the Village Board, Chairman Lenz recommended the Commissioners be there to assist in the presentation, as it is really the Commission's responsibility. . " Chief Figolah will contact some of the departments who have used this company's services. Before the matter goes before the Village Board he will get all the details and pass the information on to the Commission. He recommended that someone from the Commission be there for the validation process. The question of ties in the scoring was discussed, and it was decided there would be no more ties allowed. If a tie should occur it will be scored out down to the percentage point. Chairman Lenz recommended that the departments try to shorten the length of time it takes from the written test to the actual posting of an initial Eligibility Register. It has been taking up to three months and he feels candidates are lost to other departments during this time period. He suggested trying to shorten it to two months. The Commission would not vote on the new hire process at this time. They agreed they would vote on it when the validation process information is received and reviewed. It was decided the next meeting would be tentatively held July 17 because of the 4th of July holiday and Chairman Lenz's vacation. Jan Daley will confirm this date with all of the Commissioners. A discussion was held on how better to reach minorities when advertising for new-hire testing. Commissioner Brooks stated just sending out advertising would not do it. He reported the Internet has a monumental amount of information on what other fire and police departments are doing to address this problem. Commissioner Brooks indicated he would be glad to share an affirmative action program with the Commission. There was also discussion on representatives ITom the Fire and Police Departments and the BOFPC recruiting at the city and suburban colleges as well. Chairman Lenz expanded that area to include Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana and recommended attending college "Career Days." There being no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Minutes transcribed by Police Executive Secretary Jan Daley. ~;fr1¿~~ ~ Claude Bjork, Acting Secretary 7~1¡~Ol Date ./' 7/1 719 / ¡ I Date