The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m. In attendance were Chairman Gene Ege, Commissioner Robert Johnston, and Commissioner George Beasley. Police Chief Don Thomas arrived at 7:55 p.m. Fire Chief Bill Riddle was absent.

A motion to skip over items in the Agenda and return to them when Chief Thomas arrived was made by Commissioner Beasley and was seconded by Commissioner Johnston.

Ayes – 3

Nays – 0

Abstain –0

A motion to approve the minutes as presented from the November 26, 2002 meeting was made by Commissioner Beasley and was seconded by Commissioner Johnston. No discussion.

Ayes – 3

Nays – 0

Abstain –0

Chairman Ege informed the Commissioners that he had submitted notice to the Mayor that he will not accept another appointment on the Commission for three years. His resignation becomes effective on April 30, 2003. He said that he gave the Mayor the name of Dick Eubill to consider to take his place. He said that Mr. Eubill has served on the DeKalb County Community Foundation and also, for a short time, was a member of the DeKalb Fire and Police Commission. He resigned from DeKalb’s Board when he moved to Sycamore. He has expressed interest in becoming a Commissioner for Sycamore and has talked to Bill Nicklas about it. Chairman Ege suggested that the Commissioners give the Mayor the names of any other persons that they know who may be interested in serving, as the Mayor is the one who will make the appointment. Chairman Ege explained that the Commissioners should plan on meeting early in May in order to elect a Chairman and a Secretary and to prepare the Annual Report for the City Council.

OLD BUSINESS

Chairman Ege received a letter from Officer Richter in which he requested a leave of absence for one year due to his military deployment on January 13, 2003. Commissioner Beasley asked if Officer Richter was still in training. Chairman Ege said that Officer Richter was done with his field training, but has not yet completed his probationary period. Commissioner Beasley asked if Officer Richter will pick up where he left off in his probationary period when he returns to his job. Chairman Ege thought that Chief Thomas would probably require that Officer Richter go through some sort of re-entry program with a Field Training Officer to refresh his skills and bring him up to date on any new policies or procedures that were implemented in his absence. Commissioner Johnston said that he thought Officer Richter will need to start back where he left off in his probationary period upon his return. Chairman Ege said that his probationary period is frozen in time, and did not end just because Officer Richter was called to military duty.

A motion to approve the leave of absence for Officer Richter with the understanding that he must complete his probationary period upon his return was made by Commissioner Beasley and was seconded by Commissioner Johnston.

Ayes – 3

Nays – 0

Abstain –0

• Patrick Lozeau – Administrative Leave

Chairman Ege received a letter from Chief Thomas stating that Officer Lozeau has been put on an unpaid administrative leave due to his dismissal from the Illinois Basic Law Enforcement Program for failing to pass the state mandated physical fitness power test. Officer Lozeau has been scheduled to retake this test with the Mobile Training Unit on March 10, 2003. If he is successful in passing the test on this date, he will be returned to paid full-duty status on March 11, 2003, and will resume his training at the Illinois State Police Academy on April 6, 2003. While on leave, Officer Lozeau must call Lt. Singer each week to report on his progress in his physical fitness training. Chief Thomas will recommend to the Commission that Officer Lozeau be terminated if he does not progress in his training over the next two months or if he fails to pass the test on March 10^th. Chairman Ege recommended that the Commission accept Officer Lozeau’s unpaid administrative leave.

A motion to accept the unpaid administrative leave for Officer Lozeau was made by Commissioner Johnston and was seconded by Commissioner Beasley.

Ayes – 3

Nays – 0

Abstain –0

• Marv Fogel Research

Moved to later in the agenda when Chief Thomas arrives.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

No report.

• Police Chief

New Hire Police Officer – Chairman Ege said that the City Council approved the hiring of one police officer to fill the vacancy created by Officer Richter’s leave of absence. The Council made this contingent upon Chief Thomas being able to find the funds to continue the new officer’s employment upon Officer Richter’s return to his job with the department so that the new hire will not need to be laid off.

 

 

CLOSED SESSION

 

A motion to go into closed session to discuss personnel matters was made by Commissioner Beasley and was seconded by Commissioner Johnston.

Ayes – 3

Nays – 0

Abstain –0

The closed session began at 7:48 p.m.

A motion to reconvene the open session was made by Commissioner Johnston and was seconded by Commissioner Beasley.

Ayes – 3

Nays – 0

Abstain –0

The open session reconvened at 8:15 p.m.

A motion to send Joseph Sohovich a letter notifying him that he is no longer being considered for the position of Police Officer with the City of Sycamore was made by Commissioner Beasley and seconded by Commissioner Johnston.

Ayes – 3

Nays – 0

Abstain –0

A motion to send Munyuka Ngoyi a conditional letter of employment with the Sycamore Police Department, pending the successful completion of the psychological, polygraph and medical exams and a final interview with the Commission, was made by Commissioner Johnston and seconded by Commissioner Beasley.

Ayes – 3

Nays – 0

Abstain –0

Chairman Ege asked Ms. Tritle to get the three examinations scheduled as quickly as possible to insure that the candidate will be able to start his employment on March 31, 2003, at the latest. Commissioner Johnston said that the letter should state that Mr. Ngoyi needs to be prepared to go to the Academy for his formal training on April 6, 2003. He should plan on a March 31^st start date, or sooner, so that he can become oriented within the department before leaving for training on April 6^th.

Chief Thomas was asked about to report on the outcome of the research done by Marv Fogel. He said that the intern working under Mr. Fogel’s direction conducted a cultural assessment survey of the Police Department in December. The survey asked the department staff to discuss their feelings concerning management, their supervisors, and their peers in order to ascertain what each member felt the department was doing right and what it was doing wrong. From this data, he would draw conclusions as to how our department can pick better police candidates in the future and also give the Chief ideas on how to better manage the department. The intern was supposed to also research what is being done in other police departments, in terms of the recruiting, testing, and selection processes. Chief Thomas felt that the intern had taken a different road in this research, since he, instead, is trying to line up a relationship with Rock Valley College to develop an intensive internship for Chief Riddle and the Fire Department. He is also working on developing a consortium of small police departments through Rock Valley College to recruit, test, select, and train small town officers. In order for the Sycamore Police Department to go to the next step in this process, the intern would like Chief Thomas to pay him a sizable stipend to provide counseling to the Chief and other staff members on how to improve their supervision skills. Chief Thomas said that this is not important to him at this time, as there are several other projects in which his department is currently involved that take priority. Chief Thomas said that he would like to steer the intern back to offering the department ideas on how to better recruit, test, and select future police officers.

The intern’s goal is to help the department find officer candidates who wish to work in a small town. The Chief said that this might be a self-defeating mission, as it is hard to identify that type of individual. Most police officer candidates want to be busy and may not like the pace in a smaller town. Chief Thomas said that it is a challenge to find outlets for the officers that want more action, such as special projects. The Chief said that he does, feel, however, that this study is on the right track.

Chairman Ege said that the power test issue has been a learning experience with our recent hire that must be rectified in the future. Other than that, he said that he feels our Commission has a good handle on the hiring process for entry-level positions. When it comes to the power test, he thought that a demonstration of the test at orientation may be something that the Commission should consider for the future, so that the candidates will know what exercises they will be expected to perform at the Academy. Chairman Ege asked if candidates can be pre-certified for the power test before they attend the Academy. Chief Thomas said that they can, but that this must be done within 30 days of their attendance at the Academy. Chairman Ege thought that this would be good information to share with candidates at orientation as well.

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Commissioner Beasley and was seconded by Commissioner Johnston.

Ayes – 3

Nays – 0

Abstain –0

The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

Minutes accepted by:

_______________________________

Gene Ege, Chairman Date

Attest:

______________________________

Jean Tritle, Recording Secretary Date