The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. In attendance were Chairman George Beasley, Commissioner Richard Ubl, Commissioner Samantha Dailey, Police Chief Don Thomas, Fire Chief Bill Riddle, and City Attorney Kevin Buick. Assistant Fire Chief Cary Niewold joined the meeting while it was in progress and left before it ended.

Chairman Beasley asked if there were any additions or corrections to the agenda. Recording Secretary Tritle said that she had neglected to include the Fire Chief and Police Chief under New Business and asked that they be added. Commissioner Ubl asked to continue the discussion that was started at the last meeting regarding education prerequisites for new hires and promotions in the Police Department under Old Business.

A motion to approve the agenda, as amended, was made by Commissioner Ubl and was seconded by Commissioner Dailey.

Ayes: 3

Nays: 0

Abstain: 0

A motion to approve the minutes from the April 25, 2005 meeting, as written, was made by Commissioner Dailey and seconded by Commissioner Ubl.

Ayes: 3

Nays: 0

Abstain: 0

 

Chairman Beasley read a letter that was sent to the Commission by Sgt. Keith Snyder in which he announces his intention to retire at the end of his shift on May 2, 2005.

Commissioner Ubl recommended that a letter of appreciation be sent to Sgt. Snyder. The other Commissioners agreed.

A motion to accept the letter of resignation received from Sgt. Keith Snyder was made by Commissioner Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Ubl.

Ayes: 3

Nays: 0

Abstain: 0

• Letter of Resignation from Firefighter Charles Lorenz

Chairman Beasley read a letter that was sent to the Commission by Probationary Firefighter Charles Lorenz in which he announces his intention to resign from the Sycamore Fire Department effective 7:00 a.m. on May 8, 2005 in order to accept a job with the Huntley Fire Protection District.

Firefighter Lorenz’s letter was accompanied by one from Fire Chief Riddle, in which he asks the Commission to begin the hiring process to find a candidate to replace him as soon as possible.

A motion to accept the letter of resignation received from Probationary Firefighter Charles Lorenz was made by Commissioner Ubl and was seconded by Commissioner Dailey.

Ayes: 3

Nays: 0

Abstain: 0

• Letter from Trotsky Investigative Polygraph Services

Chairman Beasley reported that this agency had sent a letter to the Commissioners to inform them of the services they offer, including background checks and polygraph exams. Commissioner Ubl asked if this was the polygraph service that the Police Department normally used. Recording Secretary Tritle verified that it was not. Chairman Beasley said that this service was located in Naperville. Commissioner Ubl asked where the agency is located hat the Police Department currently uses. Chief Thomas explained that they currently use an individual who is also the Police Chief of the Kane County Forest Preserve. However, this individual was currently having some personal legal problems that could curtail his career. Chairman Beasley read the letter from Trotsky services, which indicated that they charge $100 per exam; he asked Chief Thomas if this was a fair price. Chief Thomas answered that it was – he has seen rates go as high as $200 per exam. Commissioner Dailey asked Chief Thomas if he knew anything about this agency. He answered that he did not, but had received the same letter. He said that he would look into finding another agency to perform the polygraph exams.

•  
• Approval of Bills

Chairman Beasley reported that the Commission had receive 3 separate bills totaling $2000 from Marv Fogel for four psychological examinations that he had performed on Fire and Police candidates over the course of the past few months. Recording Secretary Tritle explained that City Manager Bill Nicklas had approved the bills so that they could be paid in a timely fashion. Commissioner Ubl asked if they would be paid from last year’s budget or from this year’s budget. Chairman Beasley answered that it would be last year’s budget, since the new fiscal year had not yet started.

A motion to approve the three bills submitted by Marv Fogel for psychological testing services was made by Commissioner Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Ubl.

Ayes: 3

Nays: 0

Abstain: 0

Chairman Beasley asked if there were two candidates remaining on the current list. Chief Thomas verified that this was corrected, and that there were two jobs openings. One candidate, John Domenighini, had already been given his final job offer and would begin his employment with the Police Department on May 2, 2005; he is scheduled to begin his training at the Academy on May 8^th.

The last remaining candidate on the list, Tiffany O’Neill, has already had her background check and polygraph exam completed. Chief Thomas asked the Commissioners to start the remaining steps of the hiring process so that she can give at least two weeks notice at her current job and begin her employment with the Sycamore Police Department on September 1, 2005. She is scheduled to attend the Police Academy the second week of September. This then depletes the current list. Commissioner Ubl asked if candidate O’Neill is aware that she is next on the list for this open position. Chief Thomas confirmed that she is aware that there will be an opening on September 1^st, that she is the next candidate in line for that position, and that she has passed the polygraph exam. He added that she is "chomping at the bit" for the Commission’s offer of employment. Commissioner Ubl asked if the Council has approved the hiring of another Police Officer on September 1^st. Chief Thomas confirmed that they had and the money is in the budget for this position. Recording Secretary Tritle said that Candidate O’Neill has also expressed in writing that she is still interested in the position. Chairman Beasley asked what the Commission needed to do next to ensure that Candidate O’Neill recognizes that they are truly interested in pursuing her for this position. Chief Thomas said that he did not feel it was premature to send her a tentative offer of employment to be effective September 1, 2005; her medical and psychological examinations could then be scheduled. Commissioner Ubl asked if her background examination was still current. Chief Thomas answered that it was current as of two months ago. He said that the very last thing they would do would be to check and make sure that nothing has happened since the background check was completed that would now disqualify her. Commissioner Dailey asked what Candidate O’Neill was currently doing for employment. Chief Thomas said that she was a Human Resource officer for a private company, but could not remember whether or not she was still in that position. Chief Thomas added that some of his Officers recently attended a training class where they met two individuals who know Candidate O’Neill; he said that they both said she will make a great Police Officer. Commissioner Dailey asked if there were any concerns relating to the fact that Candidate O’Neill could find or accept a position elsewhere between now and September 1^st. Chief Thomas answered that this was definitely a concern, and reiterated that it would be helpful if the Commission sent her a tentative offer of employment soon. He said that, if she sees that the process has started, he is sure that she wait will for the job with his Department. Recording Secretary Tritle asked if it would be best to wait to schedule Candidate O’Neill’s medical and psychological exams until August, so that there would be no concerns about her medical status changing before September 1^st if the exam was done too soon. Chairman Beasley suggested that it be included in the tentative offer of employment that she must undergo a medical exam, which will be scheduled for her in August. Commissioner Ubl agreed that he thought it would be best to wait until August for the medical exam. Chief Thomas asked that the Commissioners give her at least two to three weeks notice of our intent to hire her; this would mean she would need to receive a final offer by the first week of August and this could only be done if her medical exam was performed in July. He explained that, if something goes amiss and Candidate O’Neill was to miss the September 7^th Academy training date, there is not another training session available until January 2006. Commissioner Ubl stated that the Commission could send her a tentative offer of employment now, subject to her completion of the medical and psychological exams, which could be scheduled to occur in mid-July. Recording Secretary Tritle said she thought this would be helpful to Candidate O’Neill, as it would give her an idea of the timetable of events leading up to her being hired on September 1^st. Chief Thomas said that he also hoped that the final interview could take place shortly after all of the test results have been received. He reiterated that he would like all testing and the final interview to be completed by the first week of August, so Candidate O’Neill can give a two or three week notice to her current employer and, most importantly, so that there will be no chance of any unforeseeable problems occurring late in the process that would keep her from attending the Academy in September. Commissioner Ubl said that he is agreeable to this, as long as we can put it off as long as possible to avoid any chance of something happening in the candidate’s life that would make her ineligible if the tests were conducted too soon. Chief Thomas asked if he could tell Candidate O’Neill to call the Commissioners if she does get offered a job from another agency but is waiting to hear about the position in our Police Department. Commissioner Ubl said that the letter should probably go out this week. Chairman Beasley reiterated that we also tell her in this letter that her medical and psychological examinations will be scheduled to take place in July. Commissioner Ubl told Recording Secretary Tritle that she has the Commissioners direction to send the aforementioned letter to Candidate O’Neill.

Chief Thomas asked if he could add one more point before the Commissioners finalized their plans to hire Candidate O’Neill. He explained that one of his Police Officers is currently out of work due to a medical disability and there is a good chance that he will take a disability pension. He said as soon as this Officer declares his intention to terminate his employment and take his disability pension, he has received permission to ask the Commission to immediately begin the process of hiring a replacement. If this does take place, Chief Thomas asked the Commission to expedite the hiring of Candidate O’Neill so that she could take the disabled Officer’s position. This could mean that her medical and psychological exams would need to take place in May or June. This would also mean that the Officer who would be hired to fill the September 1^st position would now have to be taken from the new eligibility list, once it is established. He said that he would notify the Commissioners if and when this happens. Commissioner Dailey asked Chief Thomas how long he anticipates the Officer to be disabled. Chief Thomas answered that it would be indefinitely and said that he was anticipating the Officer would make a decision once he undergoes his next medical examination in a few weeks. Commissioner Ubl thought that, if Candidate O’Neill were willing to start on September 1^st, she would also be willing to start on a different date, if given the proper notice. Chief Thomas agreed, adding that she would be willing to start tomorrow if all of the required testing were done. He said that he has observed that it takes about 6- 8 weeks to get all of the testing and the final interview completed and this is why he is coming to the Commissioners with this request at this early point in time. Chief Thomas reiterated that he would notify the Commission if and when he learns that the injured Officer will be taking a disability pension. Commissioner Ubl said that there is no reason why a letter couldn’t be sent to Candidate O’Neill at this point in time to notify here of the September 1^st hire date. If something comes up that would require her to be hired sooner than that, he felt a telephone call or another letter to her would be proper notice. Chairman Beasley said that the minutes from this discussion should provide the flexibility needed to do as the Chief asks, if the need arises.

• Discussion Concerning Education Prerequisites for New Hires and Promotions in the Police Department

Commissioner Ubl stated that he thought this would be a good time to look at changing the education prerequisites in the Police Department, if that is what the Commission wanted to do, since they are now at the point where they need to establish a new eligibility list. Chief Thomas reiterated that he would like to see the process for establishing a new list started immediately. Commissioner Ubl agreed and said that I/O Solutions should be contacted to let them know that this will be happening and that advertisements should be placed to announce the process. He said, while he does not know if any decisions can be made and implemented today, he felt it was necessary to revisit the idea of requiring a two-year college degree for both new hires and promotional candidates in the Police Department. He said at the last meeting, Chief Thomas indicated that, in the future, he wanted to require that candidates for promotion to the rank of Sergeant possess a two-year degree. Chief Thomas explained that this would apply not only to candidates for the position of Sergeant, but for the position of Lieutenant as well. He would eventually ask that candidates for the position of Lieutenant possess a four-year degree, but he wanted to phase-in these changes slowly. Chairman Beasley wondered if it is too much to ask that a young prospective Police Officer candidate have two years of college in order to qualify. Chief Thomas answered that he did not think so. However, he made it clear that he had never asked that this requirement be made for new hires, due to the fact that he is aware that many young men and women come to Policing with no college, but end up earning their degrees during the first five or ten years of their employment. Also, we have a competitive test; regardless of college, if we test two people for their ability to read and write and one beats the other, we know that one has the potential to go to college. However, when it comes to promotions, he would like to send the message that, if you wish to become a manager in the Sycamore Police Department, you should put in the extra work that it takes to earn a two or four-year degree. Chief Thomas believes that we should start with a two-year degree requirement first and eventually phase-in a four-year degree requirement.

Commissioner Ubl said that he does not feel it is a lot to ask that a candidate have two years of college. He does not feel we even have to require a degree – just two years of college education would suffice. Commissioner Ubl said that, if he remembered correctly, at least 50% of the people who applied last time had college degrees. He stressed that we also give preference points for education when calculating a candidate’s final score. Chief Thomas related that, of the last 5 Officers hired by the Department, 100% of them have four-year degrees. However, this was an accident – it was not a requirement. Commissioner Ubl said he believes that those candidates with degrees will excel on the written exam because they will have better cognitive abilities and they will do better on the oral exam because their maturity level will be higher than a candidate who is applying right out of high school. He said that he was trying to relate the educational requirement for promotions in the future to the need for college credits for new hires. Chief Thomas reminded Commissioner Ubl that counsel had previously advised them that education prerequisites needed to be addressed in two ways: through the Rules and Regulation of the Commission and through Policy. He said he has already told his Sergeants that he is going to be asking the Commission to require that a two-year degree be a prerequisite for the position of Sergeant. He said that all of his Sergeants agreed. Commissioner Ubl asked if all of the Sergeants currently have their two-year degree. Chief Thomas answered that all of his Officers who wish to become Sergeants currently have two or four-year degrees. He said that he also told the Sergeants that he would eventually recommend that the Commissioners require a four-year degree in order for an Officer to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. He said that, upon hearing this, two of his Sergeants enrolled in college classes in order to obtain their four-year degrees. Commissioner Ubl said if this is the route that the Commission is going to take, he does not see why it is not required up-front for new hires. As we saw with the last list, most of the candidates already have their degrees, so why not make it a requirement. He added that it could also serve to convince high school graduates with no plans to continue on to enroll in college classes if they find out that this is a prerequisite for their career choice. Chief Thomas asked if he was hearing Commission Ubl say that he wants to require two years of college for new hires when we place the advertisement to announce the next testing date. Commissioner Ubl asked Chief Thomas if he would buy into this requirement. Chief Thomas answered that he would. Chairman Beasley asked if the Chief would also buy into the requirement of two years of military service. Commissioner Ubl said that they couldn’t require military service. Chairman Beasley clarified that he meant that a candidate must have either two years of college education or two years of military service, adding that it is not fair to penalize candidates for not having college credits if they chose instead to go into the military after graduating from high school. Chairman Beasley added that he thinks that they should wait until the next list, not the one that will be established this year, to make education a requirement.

Chief Thomas said that, prior to this discussion on education prerequisites, it was his intention to ask the Commissioners to consider establishing the new list for certified Officers only. He explained that, in the next two years, he is anticipating hiring two or three new Officers; if we can hire certified Officers, it would save the Department a lot of money in training fees as it costs approximately $5,000 to send a new hire to the Police Academy, not including salary. State law allows the Police and Fire Commission to advertise for only certified Officers, and the Commission has done this twice in the past five years. He added that this process worked out well last time in that it gave the Department three excellent Officers: Dan Wojcik, Justin Kness, and Marshall Flynn. Commissioner Ubl agreed that they were all excellent hires and said that, while they disagreed with the panel of Officers on the ranking of these three candidates, they all agreed that they were the top three candidates. Chairman Beasley pointed out that each of these Officers also had their four-year college degree. Chief Thomas said this was a coincidence. Chairman Beasley said he believes this will become typical of new hires in the future. Chief Thomas went on to explain that, if we do only advertise for certified Officers and we use the same hiring process as last time, we will not spend any money on a written test. He reminded the Commissioners that the process that was used involved a certification elimination that was performed by himself, one of his Lieutenants, and the Human Resources Director. Once this step was completed, the remaining candidates were reviewed by a panel of Police Officers, who pared the list down further and ranked the remaining candidates. The Commissioner then interviewed these candidates and formulated the final hiring list. The Chief felt that this process worked very well; there was no written test and the Officers were chosen strictly through an interview process. Commissioner Ubl said he feels very strongly that we should also be bringing in "new blood". The last list also contained certified Officers and he sensed that we would get certified Officers applying no matter what type of list was established. Chief Thomas confirmed that two out of the twelve candidates on the current list were certified Officers, and believes that it was an accident that one ranked as high as he did. Also, out of the two certified Officers, we were only able to hire one. All the other candidates on the list required training if they were hired. Commissioner Dailey thought there might be some safety concerns if we hired too many brand new Officers. Chief Thomas said that is certainly a part of it. He added that we had fewer applicants than normal when we advertised for certified Officers; however, amongst those fewer applicants we had more qualified applicants. He said that it really is okay with him if the Commissioners wished to open the hiring process up to everyone and have a written exam. He explained he was selfishly thinking about saving budget money by hiring already trained Officers but feels that we could attract enough people to apply who are already certified. Commissioner Ubl agreed that, from a budgetary standpoint, it makes some sense, but feels that we may be losing some highly qualified candidates who, although not certified, would become awfully good Officers if the opportunity were given to them. Chief Thomas said of the four candidates who have been or will be hired from the current list, all were elevated in the rankings due to their performance on the oral interviews and not the written exam. Commissioners Ubl agreed, adding that he went back and looked at the some of the test scores and determined that candidates were booted either up or down based upon their performance in the oral interviews. Chief Thomas said that giving preference points to certified candidates also helps, pointing out that Officer Hoffman ranked below other candidates before these preference points were added to his score; they elevated him to second position on the current list. Commissioner Ubl added that he thought Candidate O’Neill’s ranking was also boosted from the addition of preference points for education to her score. Chairman Beasley stated he thought there is an advantage in establishing a list consisting only of certified Officers in that it does not take as long to formulate the list. Since we are going to be hiring new Officers within the next twelve months, he feels it would be good to get the list established as quickly as possible. Chief Thomas said that he would be willing to bring this issue back to the table at the next meeting of the Commission, which is scheduled to take place on May 9^th.

Commissioner Ubl said he was also concerned that, if only certified Officers are recruited, the Commissioners would be left out of the interview portion of the process. He wondered if the Commissioners should be the selection committee that decides who would be interviewed, though he would include several Police Officers on this panel as was done when the Commission did the oral interviews for the last entry-level list. Chief Thomas said that he would have no problem with this. He said that if they did the advertising, the Commission could either decide to do their own credential check, or they could direct the Police Department to do this step for them. They could then make the decision as to which candidates would move on to the next step of the interview process. The Commission could also decide to give all of the candidates a written test, even if they are all already certified Officers. Commissioner Ubl asked if the written exam reflects a candidate’s ability to write reports. Chief Thomas answered that, while it does, he sees one problem with the written exam. If 50 people take this test and the top score is a 95, the next score will most probably be a 94, then a 93, then a 92, etc. down the line. While there is a big difference in cognitive abilities between the candidate who scores 95 and the candidate who scores 70, this is not the case between the candidate who scores a 95 and a candidate who scores a 90. However, the candidate who scores 95 will be interviewed for a position first and, unless he or she is eliminated, he or she will get the job. The problem arises in that the candidate who scored 90 may have been a superior person who would have made a better Officer. Therefore, there is too much importance on the rank associated with the written test. Commissioner Ubl said he though that the oral exam would offset this problem in a lot of the cases. Chief Thomas said that he thought this was true until he did some research. He found that, in looking at the scores on the written and oral exams for the past few years, he did not see where the written scores as compared to the post-interview scores were any different until the last exam that was administered. He said that he remembers Chairman Beasley also commenting on this a few years ago. He said that, all in all, this is very discouraging because someone could do very well in an interview, but that still does not seem to offset his or her written score. It appears that this is just an anomaly of the testing process. Commissioner Ubl said that this is the hiring process and that interviewing is an important part of it because, unlike the written exam, it helps the Commission to find candidates with the oral skills and personality that are essential for the job. Chief Thomas reminded Commissioner Ubl that the written exam is still more important in the overall scoring as it is 60% of the total score, where the oral exam only counts for 40%. He added that he disagrees with this weighting. Commissioner Ubl argued that he has found that interviewers will usually give a superior candidate a high grade in order to ensure that he or she is appropriately boosted in the rankings. He reiterated that he would like to see a new listed established that includes both new recruits and certified Officers. Chairman Beasley still believes that it would be best to recruit only certified Officers, as the Chief is going to have a strong need for new Officers in the next year. He added that he does not see any problem with the Commission being involved in the entire process, including the credential checks and the selection of candidates who go on to the oral interviews. Chief Thomas said that if we start early, we could establish a list, using either method, in time for the next hire. Chairman Beasley asked where we advertised the last time we announced we were establishing a list. Chief Thomas answered that we advertised in newspapers and over the Internet. Chairman Beasley asked if anything special was done the last time a list of lateral transfers was established. Chief Thomas answered that he sent e-mails and faxes to every Police Department in the State of Illinois, contacted several headhunters, and advertised on several websites. He recalled that, as a result, we received about 60 applications from certified Officers. Chairman Beasley remarked that this was more than was received when we advertised for the last list, which was open to both new recruits and certified Officers.

Chairman Beasley reiterated that he felt it would be best to wait to implement the education requirement and not have it apply to the list that will be established this year. Recording Secretary Tritle asked if the Rules and Regulations would need to be amended to reflect this change. City Attorney Buick confirmed that they would. Chairman Beasley also stated he felt it would be better to make the new list containing certified Officers only. He asked if a motion was required to make this decision, or if it would be best to postpone a decision until the meeting on May 9^th, adding that this was up to the other two Commissioners. Commissioner Ubl said that he would like to see the Rules and Regulations changed to require the two-years of education prerequisite and agreed that it could be done today or postponed until the next meeting. City Attorney Buick interjected that, since the Commissioners will be meeting again in two weeks as opposed to three months from now, it would be best if they waited to address this issue at the meeting on May 9^th. He explained that, because this item was not officially on today’s agenda, the Commissioners would insulate themselves from any criticism by waiting until their next meeting to vote on this issue. He said that there is a limitation imposed by a relatively recent case; the Commissioners can discuss anything, but taking formal action on an item that is not specifically on the agenda is now a problem. However, because this issue was discussed at a previous meeting, there is some latitude that would allow action to be taken. With all things being equal, he recommends that the Commissioners wait until their next meeting to take any formal action on this item in order to avoid any conflict with the Open Meetings Act. He went on to explain that there has been quite a bit of controversy over this issue, as it has been traditional for people to bring business to a meeting and expect action to be taken. Commissioner Ubl agreed that it would be best to accept counsel’s advice on this matter and wait until the next meeting to address this issue.

Chairman Beasley asked if they should initiate the action needed to start a new list. Commissioner Ubl replied that this couldn’t be done until the Commissioners decide when the educational prerequisite will be put into effect. He added that, if Chairman Beasley was talking about establishing a list of only lateral transfers, he was opposed to this. Recording Secretary Tritle asked if this would also need to appear as an agenda item for the next meeting before any formal action could be taken. City Attorney Buick answered that, although the Commissioners previously discussed the subject of the list and the likelihood that they would encounter any problems concerning it is very minimal, he still recommends that they wait until the next meeting to take any formal action regarding the establishment of the list. He stated again that, when action on a significant item is being taken, it is best to have it appear on the agenda as opposed to having it work its way in through discussion. While he would support the Commissioners either way, he recommended that they wait until their next meeting in two weeks. Chairman Beasley reminded the Commissioners that they would need to establish the next list very quickly, because, if the injured Officer that Chief Thomas had referred to earlier elects to take his disability pension, the current list will be exhausted with the hiring of Candidate O’Neill. This is why he feels it would be best to advertise only for certified Officers. Commissioner Ubl stated that he does not think it matters which method is used; a list will be established by September 1^st. He reminded the Commissioners that they will be on almost the same schedule as they were last summer when they established an eligibility list for entry-level Firefighters, and they had this list in place by August. He estimates that they could be ready to administer the written exam in June and the oral exam in July. Chairman Beasley stated that this item should definitely be placed on the agenda for the May 9^th meeting.

Chairman Beasley also suggested that the issue of employment contracts be revisited at the next meeting as well. Commissioner Ubl asked Chief Thomas if he had looked into this issue. Chief Thomas answered that he had looked at it at length and will discuss his findings when the Commissioners are ready for a recommendation.

 

Commissioner Dailey asked Chief Thomas how many new Officers he had as compared to the number of more experienced Officers. Chief Thomas answered that during the time he has been in Sycamore, 6 Officers have been hired. He currently has a force of 24, which consists of some experienced Officers. Commissioner Dailey stated that, as a community member, if she saw that half of our force consisted of new, entry-level Police Officers, she would not feel nearly as safe as she would if the majority of the force consisted mainly of experienced Officers. While she understands the need to recruit new blood, she feels that we also need a good supply of experienced Officers here as well. Commissioner Ubl said that, if he remembered correctly, one of the lateral transfers only had one year of experience under his belt when he was hired by Sycamore. Another worked in a very small town before coming here. Chief Thomas said, on the other hand, we hired a lateral transfer several years ago that had twenty-one years of experience, and he is still with us and is doing an excellent job.

Commissioner Dailey asked if, when we establish a new list, it has to be one type or another – i.e. only new recruits or only certified Officers. Or, can you do a combination. Chief Thomas answered that you can have three lists: one that has only anyone who applies, which can consist of new recruits and certified Officers or one that has only certified Officers. Concerning the third type, Chief Thomas explained that some Departments keep a list of new, uncertified recruits along with a list of only certified Officers and they will blend these two lists together. When they are ready to hire from this blended list, they will use the method that is most expedient. The law states that you can skip over the names on a list to choose an experience Officer first if you can show that an emergency situation exists. He does not recommend this type of list at all, as it is very complicated. He stated again that he has no objection to using either of the first two methods, especially if there is enough time to get the list established in an expedient manner. Commissioner Ubl said that he would support advertising for both certified Officers and non-certified recruits, but they would all have to take the written exam. Commissioner Dailey stated that, in this method, if we get certified Officers that is good and they will not be excluded for any reason. Commissioner Ubl stated that they would not be excluded and would even have an advantage when it came to their salary, as they would start at higher step on the union wage scale. Plus, they would not have to be sent to the Academy for training. Chief Thomas said that, per the Rules and Regulations, the certified Officers would also be given preference points for their experience, as well as points for military service and education. Therefore, all certified Officers come in with a possible 5 points.

Chief Thomas asked Chairman Beasley if the discussion about the promotional testing schedule could also be included on the agenda for the May 9^th meeting, as the current list expires in late October or early November.

 

Chairman Beasley reported that the Commissioners had interviewed Officer Swartzendruber prior to their meeting and they believe he will do an excellent job in this new position.

A motion to approve the promotion of Officer Swartzendruber to the position of Sergeant effective May 2, 2005 was made by Commissioner Ubl and was seconded by Commissioner Dailey.

Ayes: 3

Nays: 0

Abstain: 0

Recording Secretary Tritle said that she had already typed Officer Swartzendruber’s confirmation letter and asked the Commissioners to each sign it before she mailed it to him. Commissioner Ubl asked Chief Thomas how long Officer Swartzendruber has been in the Department. Chief Thomas thought he has been here for eight or ten years. He added that Rod is very levelheaded and will be a quiet leader.

• Annual Report of the Commission

Chairman Beasley asked the Commissioners if they had any additions or deletions to make to the draft of the Annual Report that was distributed to them prior to this meeting. Commissioner Ubl said that he feels this is a fiscal year report of Commission activities and, therefore, does not need to include the names of the officers who will be elected at the May 9^th meeting to serve in the next fiscal year. Recording Secretary explained that, in the past, the Commissioners have always prepared the Annual Report at their first meeting in May and have delivered it to the City Council meeting at the Council’s second meeting in May. For this reason, past Annual Reports have included information on the new officers, as well as a list of Commission activities planned for the coming fiscal year. She asked City Attorney Buick if it is necessary to include the results of the election of Officers for the coming year as a part of this report. City Attorney Buick answered that he did not believe it was necessary, and could think of no possible harm the Commission may run into if they were not included. Recording Secretary Tritle said that the Report will be revised and the election of Commission Officers will be reported on the FY06 Annual Report. Recording Secretary Tritle said that the report would be delivered at the May 16^th meeting of the City Council. Chairman Beasley said that, if this is the case, the new officers will be elected by then and could therefore be included in the Report. Recording Secretary Tritle said that Commissioner Ubl thought it would be more appropriate to present the Annual Report to the City Council at their May 2^nd meeting, before the new Board begins its term. He added that he thought this has always been how it is done. Recording Secretary Tritle answered that Chairman Beasley presented it to the Council at their second meeting in May last year. She added that the City Manager may already have the May 2^nd agenda set and would prefer to have it presented at the Council meeting on May 16^th. She said that she would check with him.

Recording Secretary Tritle suggested that the Commissioners revisit the schedule of regular Commission dates that they agreed upon at the last meeting. This is necessary because the new Commissioner who will be appointed to the Board effective May 1^st may not be able to meet on the dates that the Commissioners previously selected. Commissioner Ubl agreed, noting that the meeting that was scheduled to take place on May 2^nd already had to be postponed until May 9^th. Recording Secretary Tritle said that she would make this an agenda item for the next meeting.

 

• Fire Chief

Chief Riddle asked the Commissioners if they would begin the process of hiring the next candidate on the Firefighter eligibility list, since they will be in need of a replacement for Firefighter Lorenz. Commissioner Ubl asked who is next on the list. Fire Chief Riddle reported that the next candidate is Meghann Adams, who, he has learned, has moved to Austin Texas where she is working in Paramedic services for the County. He said that he spoke with Meghann’s mother earlier today; Mrs. Adams told him that Meghann would be graduating form Paramedic school on Thursday of this week and she does not anticipate her returning to Illinois. Commissioner Ubl asked Chief Riddle if he was able to speak directly with Candidate Adams. He reported that he had not. However, he did obtain her current address from her mother and he also had her e-mail address. He gave both of these to Recording Secretary Tritle, so that she could send a letter to her. Recording Secretary Tritle reported that she had already prepared a letter of interest for the Commissioners to sign; she would send this registered mail and would also e-mail the letter to Candidate Adams. Since Candidate Adams is in another state, e-mailing her may expedite the receipt of an answer from her. Commissioner Ubl asked if Recording Secretary Tritle gave Candidate a deadline for returning the letter. Recording Secretary Tritle said that she did. Commissioner Dailey asked if Candidate Adams had to decline the job. Recording Secretary Tritle answered that she must indicate that she is no longer interested before the Commissioners could move on to the next Candidate on the list. Chief Riddle said they are looking at a start date of May 10^th. Commissioner Beasley asked if a letter of interest could also be sent to the candidate whose name is after Candidate Adams on the list. Chief Riddle answered that this person is John Pink, who is one of his college interns; we already know that he is still interested. Chairman Beasley answered that we will need to receive Candidate Adam’s denial of the position before we can begin processing Candidate Pink.

• Police Chief

Chief Thomas had no other business to report.

CLOSED SESSION

 

Before moving into closed session, City Attorney Buick counseled the Commissioners on the Open Meetings Act as it pertained to closed sessions. He explained that the Commissioners always wanted to make sure they specified that the closed session was needed to discuss personnel matters. If the closed session is to discuss litigation, under the Open Meetings Act, much more stringent requirements would apply as to the findings the Commissioners would need to make in order to go into closed session. Commissioner Ubl asked what type of finding would be required. City Attorney Buick answered that it must be a specific finding based upon facts that the litigation is either pending, which is not a problem, or that it is imminent, in which case the Commission would need to state the reasons why they thought it was imminent. He explained that this requirement was legislated in order to stop people from using the mere potential of litigation as a cover to go into closed session for broader purposes. He added that this requirement is only about one week old.

 

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

Ayes: 3

Nays: 0

Abstain: 0

Closed session began at 4:03 p.m.

A motion to return to open session was made by Commissioner Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Ubl.

Ayes: 3

Nays: 0

Abstain: 0

Open session reconvened at 4:18 p.m.

Before the meeting was adjourned, Recording Secretary Tritle asked if she could thank Chairman Beasley for his service on the Commission for the past six years. Commissioners Ubl and Dailey and both Chiefs expressed their gratitude as well.

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Commissioner Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Ubl.

Ayes: 3

Nays: 0

Abstain: 0

The meeting was adjourned at 4:20 p.m.