Sycamore
Fire and Police Commission
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m.
In attendance were Commissioner Richard Ubl, Commissioner
APPROVAL OF
AGENDA
Motion
A motion to approve the agenda, as amended, was made by Commissioner Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
APPROVAL OF
THE MINUTES
A motion to approve the minutes from the open session of the April 25, 2005 meeting, as written, was made by Commissioner Dailey and seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
A motion to approve the minutes from the closed session of the April 25, 2005 meeting, as written, was made by Commissioner Dailey and seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
ELECTION
OF OFFICERS
A motion to elect Commissioner Ubl as the Chairman of the Sycamore Fire and Police Commission for the period of May 1, 2005 – April 30, 2006 was made by Commissioner Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Commissioner Ubl accepted the nomination, based upon the
premise that it would be for one year.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
Commissioner Dailey asked for clarification as to what the
positions of Chairman and Secretary actually involve.
Chairman Ubl answered that the Chairman calls and leads the meetings.
He said that the Chairman works with the Recording Secretary to set the
agenda for each meeting. Recording
Secretary Tritle explained that, prior to Chairman Beasley’s tenure, the
Chairman actually wrote the agenda; it has only recently evolved into a combined
effort between the Chairman and the Recording Secretary.
City Attorney Foster affirmed that the job of the Chairman is to
essentially run the meeting. Regarding
the position of Secretary, Recording Secretary Tritle explained that, in the
past, the person in this position would write all correspondences.
Since past correspondences are kept on file, Recording Secretary Tritle
explained that she uses them as a guide for any letters that now need to be sent
by the Commission. She said her role
in working with the Commission has expanded since she came on board, due to the
fact that she also works as the Human Resources Director for the City.
Motion
A motion to elect Commissioner Dailey as the Secretary of the Fire and Police Commission was made by Chairman Ubl and was seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Commissioner Dailey accepted the nomination.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
COMMUNICATIONS
Chairman Ubl stated that the
Commission had received two letters from Chief Riddle in
which he announces that Firefighter Ward will complete all the necessary
requirements of
his probationary period on May 10, 2005 and Firefighter Flatter will
complete all the necessary
requirements of his probationary period on June 7, 2005.
A motion to send Firefighters Ward and Flatter a letter to confirm the end of their probationary period was made by Commissioner Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
OLD
BUSINESS
·
Review and Approve the Annual Report
Chairman
Ubl reported that Recording Secretary Tritle had amended the Annual Report,
which will be presented to the City Council at their meeting on May 16,
2005. The amendment was
needed to change the dates previously established for
the Regular Meetings of the Commission in FY06.
Chairman Ubl asked Commissioner
Larson which dates would work best with his schedule.
Commissioner Larson asked if the meeting can take place on a day other
than Monday, as the only date he knows he is not available is November 7th.
He added that he would be available on Tuesday, November 8th.
Chairman Ubl and Commissioner Dailey confirmed that any day would be fine.
Recording Secretary Tritle said this would make the schedule of meetings
May 9, 2005, August 1, 2005, November 8, 2005, and February 6, 2006. Chairman
Ubl said that he cannot meet in February, but would be available during the last
week of
January. Recording Secretary
Tritle suggested that it be changed to the last Monday in January 2006; the
Commissioners all agreed.
A motion to approve the Annual Report of the Commission, as amended, to be presented to the City Council at their May 16, 2005 meeting was made by Chairman Ubl and was seconded by Commissioner Dailey.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
·
Status on the Hiring of a New Firefighter
Chief
Riddle reported that candidate John Pink had completed his psychological exam.
Marv Fogel had indicated verbally to the Chief that candidate Pink had
passed.
Candidate Pink also had taken the physical agility exam on May 6th,
and he had passed that as well. Chief Riddle
said that an updated background exam is being done on
candidate Pink to make sure that there have been no new warrants issued
on him since he began working for
the City as a
·
Discussion on Amending the Rules and
Regulations to Require 2-years of College as a Prerequisite for New Police
Officers and the type of list eligibility list to be established
Before
proceeding on this topic, Chairman Ubl asked if Candidate O’Neill had accepted
the tentative job offer for
employment with the Sycamore Police Department on
September 1, 2005. Recording
Secretary Tritle confirmed that she had. Commissioner
Ubl asked if
Chief Thomas had any updated information as to whether or not one of his
Police Officers will be leaving the Department due to disability.
Chief Thomas said that he did not. Chairman
Ubl said the Commissioners understand that, if the injured Police
Officer applies for a disability pension, candidate O’Neill could be
hired sooner, assuming
that she is available at that time. Chief
Thomas concurred.
Chairman Ubl stated that he advocates adding the educational prerequisite
for Police Officers.
Since Chief Thomas has stated that he would like to eventually require
that candidates for
promotion to the position of Sergeant or Lieutenant have a college degree,
Chairman Ubl feels that it makes sense to amend the Rules and Regulations
to require a
college education at the entry level.
Chief Thomas said that the argument against
making this change would be that it would restrict the number of
candidates who would
apply. While this may be
true, Chief Thomas added that he does not feel it will restrict
the number of good, qualified applicants.
He said that, in looking at the past two
eligibility lists we had, he found there were plenty of applicants with
at least 60 hours of
college credits or a degree. Chairman
Ubl stated that this surprised him and added that he
did notice in the oral interviews that those candidates who had a college
education
seemed to have a higher level of maturity than those who did not have any
college. Chief Thomas noted that 4 out of the last 6 hires were already
certified Police Officers, while
4 out of the last 5 had four-year degrees.
He recommended that the Commission avoid
requiring a two-year degree and instead make the prerequisite 60 college
credits. He
explained that
Commissioner Larson stated he would oppose something like this in the
Fire Service
because it would cut down on the quality of the candidates, especially
those with building trades.
However, he acknowledged that Police service is completely different.
Chief Thomas
pointed out that, right now, the Fire Department has the requirement that
they will
hire only those candidates who are certified Firefighters; the Police Department
does not have this type of requirement. He
explained that, traditionally, in Policing, a
candidate cannot become certified until age 21 or older, whereas in the
Fire Service, candidates
can begin to work on becoming certified at the age of 18.
He said that Police pre-service training is more collegiate, so there is
not a direct correlation between Police
and Fire. Commissioner Larson acknowledged that he could see the benefit
of this requirement in
the Police service. Chairman Ubl added that Firefighter candidates must
also be certified Paramedics, so
they almost do have two-years of education when they
are hired, as well as a higher level of maturity.
Chairman Ubl said that, in policing, the ability
to write reports has become more valuable now than it was in earlier times and
the additional education that a Police candidate receives would hopefully give
them better skills
in this area.
Commissioner Dailey remembered
that, at their last meeting, the Commissioners discussed whether a candidate
could have either two years of college or military experience.
Chairman Ubl said that former Commissioner Beasley did bring this up; however,
while it was decided that a person with military service does receive preference
points, education and military service really cannot be correlated.
Recording Secretary Tritle asked if this meant that someone who went into
the military right after high school instead of going to college would no longer
be eligible to test for the position of Police Officer.
Chairman Ubl answered that this is correct, Chief Riddle added that many
people who go into the military and have formal training, such as that given to
MP’s, receive dual credit for it; many colleges will convert this training
into college credits. Also, many
military personnel will attend college while they are in the service, especially
if they know that they would like to become a Police Officer or a Firefighter
when they are discharged. In this
way, they can remain competitive with the rest of the work force. Chairman Ubl
said that “competitive” is the operative word and we want to ensure that we
attract the best candidates that we possibly can.
Chief Thomas added that, in fairness to those people in the military,
this prerequisite would not have knocked any candidates off of the last two
eligibility lists.
Commissioner Larson asked if the educational prerequisite would be at
time of hire or at the time a
candidate takes the exam. Chairman
Ubl answered that this would apply at the
time of the exam. Chief
Thomas said the 60 credit hours could be verified through a transcript check.
He added that the problem with stating that candidates must have the 60
credit hours at time of hire is that they might not have accomplished
that goal by the time the job is offered to them. Commissioner Dailey said that
the prerequisite needed to state
that the candidates need 60 credit hours as opposed to two years of
college, as a candidate may not earn 60 credits in 2 years.
Chairman Ubl asked City Manager Nicklas if he had any thoughts on this.
Mr. Nicklas answered that he agreed with the 60-hour requirement
for the same reason stated by Commissioner Dailey.
Chairman Ubl asked City Attorney
Foster how rapidly the Rules and Regulations could be amended, since the
Commissioners want the educational requirement to be in place when the next list
is established. City Attorney Foster
answered that all he needed to do was put the amendment in writing.
Since the Commissioners will be conducting a final interview of
Firefighter candidate John Pink on Friday, they could agree to just continue
today’s meeting until that day and vote to accept the amendment then.
Chairman Ubl asked if the proposed amendment would need to be presented
to the City Council. City Attorney
Foster answered that it did not, as it is based only upon the approval of the
Commissioners.
A motion to amend the Rules and Regulations to include an educational prerequisite of 60 college credit hours for Police Officer candidates was made by Commissioner Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
City Attorney Foster said that he
would put together a draft of the amendment language and then e-mail it to the
Commissioners to review. Recording
Secretary Tritle asked if notice of the amendment had to be published in the
newspaper as well as giving the public 10 days to respond to it.
City Attorney Foster said that notice is published after the Commission
passes the amendment. Chairman Ubl
asked if a formal meeting of the Commission would be required in order to pass
the amendment. City Attorney Foster
answered that, technically, it would, as the language of the amendment is what
becomes the rule (as opposed to the motion) and they would need to see and agree
upon that language. However,
the Commissioners can just continue today’s meeting until that time.
Chairman Ubl asked if the announcement of this meeting would need to be
published. City Attorney Foster said
that it would not, since it would be a continuation of today’s meeting.
If this is the case, Chairman Ubl asked if this means that they would not
adjourn today’s meeting. City
Attorney Foster answered that this is correct; at the end of today’s meeting
they would indicate that this meeting would be continued on Friday at 9:00 a.m.
Chairman Ubl asked the other two Commissioners if this sounded fair to
them. Commissioners Dailey and
Larson both answered that it did.
Chairman Ubl stated that, once
this was accomplished, the Commissioners would be ready to start the search for
candidates to establish a new eligibility list for Police Officers.
Since
Commissioner Dailey asked if the
process to establish a new eligibility list needed to be started as soon as
possible. Chief Thomas answered that
this was correct, due to the fact that there is only one candidate left on the
current list and that candidate has already been offered a position and is
schedules to start on September 1, 2005. This
date could change, as Chief Thomas said that he currently has an Officer who is
considering taking a disability pension.
He said he also has another Officer who is currently considering
retirement and is applying for other jobs. Therefore,
it is important to get a new list established as soon as possible, in case
either of these two Officers chooses to leave.
Chairman Ubl stated that the
hardest part of developing a list is finding the time to administer the oral
examination to all eligible candidates. The
written exam takes one morning, and those results are received quickly.
Recording Secretary Tritle said that she had already called I/O Solutions
to see when they would be available to come out to Sycamore and administer the
written exam. They indicated they
are available on June 25th or July 9th.
Chairman Ubl explained that the Commissioners are not all required to be
present at the written exam, though one of them usually is there, along with the
Chief.
He explained that an orientation
is conducted prior to the administration of the written exam, and that all of
the candidates are required to attend orientation. If they do not, they cannot
take the written exam. Chief Thomas
explained that, traditionally, a mandatory orientation session is held a few
days before the administration of the written exam.
Recording Secretary Tritle added that a few years ago, the Commission
decided to hold the orientation session on the same day as the written exam to
accommodate those candidates who are coming from out of town.
Orientation takes place first, and then the candidates are given a short
break before the written exam begins. Chief
Thomas stated that he was agreeable to the consolidation of the two.
Chairman Ubl agreed, stating that he thought that holding the orientation
session and the written exam on the same day has worked out fantastically well.
He asked Chief Thomas if he would be available to address the candidates
if orientation and the written exam were held on June 25th.
Chief Thomas said that he would be available and said that he would also
bring along several of his Officers to speak to the candidates as well.
Chairman Ubl said that the only
question remaining is where this would take place.
Recording Secretary Tritle offered to contact the Library to see if the
Commission could use their Community Room again.
Chief Thomas suggested she call the High School.
Recording Secretary Tritle explained that they used the Library
facilities for the Firefighter written exam due to the fact that the High School
said they would charge a rental fee to use their cafeteria; the Library allows
the Commission to use their room for free. Chief
Thomas said that he would call the High School to see if he could work something
out with them. He said that the Farm
Bureau might be another option. Chief
Riddle said that they have also used the Armory in the past.
Commissioner Dailey asked how much it would cost to use the High School.
Chairman Ubl said that he did not remember the fee he was quoted last
year, but thought that it was used to pay for the staff that had to be available
while the building was open on a Saturday.
Chairman Ubl said that he thought the Library facilities ending up being
a good choice last year for the Firefighters exam.
The Library staff allowed the Commissioners to come in the day before the
test and set up the room. He
said that he is sure we will come up with a location, we just need to do it soon
so that we can let the candidates know when we advertise the testing date.
Recording Secretary Tritle asked
City Attorney Foster if she had to wait until the 10-day period allowed for
public response to the amendment to the Rules and Reg8ulations had to end before
she could place the ad for Police Officer candidates.
Chief Thomas said that, by the time the amendment takes effect, we could
advertise. City Attorney Foster
agreed, adding that the application deadline would be after the 10-day period
has ended. Chairman Ubl asked
Recording Secretary Tritle to e-mail a draft of the ad to the Commissioners for
their approval before she submits it to the newspapers for publication. She said
that she had already put together a draft, which included the new educational
prerequisite, and passed it out to the Commissioners to review. Chairman Ubl
said that he knew the ad would be sent to the local newspapers, including the Daily
Chronicle and the Midweek, but wondered if it would also appear on
any websites. Chief Thomas explained
that it would appear on the Sycamore Police Department’s website, the City’s
website, and at least one Police recruiting website that he knows of.
He added that, as he did last time, he would also fax or e-mail the ad to
almost all of the Police departments in
Recording Secretary Tritle
answered that she did not place it in the Tribune last time, but did send
it to the ihirelawenforcement.com website.
She also had received solicitations from two other websites that they
could use. Chairman Ubl cautioned
that using the websites could be expensive.
Chief Thomas said that there are websites that they could use that charge
a minimal fee or are free.
Commissioner Larson asked if the
Police Officers have a residency requirement.
Chief Thomas answered that it is 20-miles, and the new Officer has 12
months in which to meet this requirement. He
added that this residency requirement is generous and does not eliminate any
candidates. Chief Riddle confirmed
that Firefighters have the same requirement.
Commissioner Larson asked which testing company is used.
Chairman Ubl answered that I/O Solutions is hired to administer the
written exam, but the Commissioners conduct the oral exams.
·
Discussion on the use of Employment
Contracts for Firefighters and Police Officers at time of hire
Chairman
Ubl asked Chief Thomas to report his findings from researching this topic.
Chief Thomas reported he found there are a handful of Police Departments
that use hiring contracts that usually cover the first two years of employment.
These contracts are agreements to reimburse for training and uniforms; if
the person leaves within the first two years of employment, the contract states
that they must repay the Department for these two items.
City Attorney Foster said that he had obtained copies of two contracts
– one from
Commissioner
Larson asked if they have had problems with candidates who test with many
different municipalities, explaining that a candidate who does this will usually
take the first job offered to him or her, knowing that he or she will move on if
the Department that he or she really desires to work for ends up offering him or
her a job. Chief Thomas answered
that his Department has not experienced this problem, though it did almost
happen recently. A candidate
on the current list was offered a job with our Department; she knew that she
would also be offered a job with another municipality within a few months, so
she turned down Sycamore’s job offer. Chief
Thomas applauded her ethics, because she could have taken our job offer,
completed her training, and then moved on to the other municipality shortly
after her training was completed. Chief
Riddle said that Firefighter Lorenz did this; he took the job with us and was
here for only a few months before he accepted a job offer in Huntley, where he
had been working as a Paid-on-Call Firefighter prior to accepting the position
in Sycamore. He added that the City
is not really out a lot of money – only the amounts spent for the physical and
psychological exams. Chief Thomas
said he feels that his Department’s second year pay is very competitive, so eh
does not worry about losing a new Officer in his or her second year on the
force. He explained that Hampshire
is a small Department, and that they have become a “training ground” for
larger Departments; this is why they would need employment contracts.
He does not feel that Sycamore is in the same boat.
He stated that he sees the problem occur most often while an Officer is
attending the
Chairman
Ubl stated that we live in a very mobile society and that, in some cases, the
spouse may be the main bread-winner in the family, in which case our employee
may need to move if the spouse is ever transferred.
He said that he would feel bad if we were to penalize an employee in this
situation. Commissioner Dailey
asked Commissioner Larson if the Fire Department that he works for uses these
types of contracts. Commissioner
Larson answered that
Chairman
Ubl expressed his appreciation for the effort that Chief Thomas and City
Attorney Foster put into researching this topic.
He suggested that the question of implementing employment contacts in the
City of Sycamore’s Fire and Police Departments be tabled at this point in
time, adding that it could be revisited if it does become a problem as each of
these Departments grow in size. Commissioners
Dailey and Larson agreed.
NEW
BUSINESS
·
Promotional Testing Schedule for Fire Lieutenants and Police Sergeants
Chief Riddle reported that the
current promotional list for the position of Fire Lieutenant expires on November
1, 2005. The Commissioners need to
begin to take the necessary steps to ensure that a new list is in place by this
date. He explained that, according
to the procedures set forth in the Firefighters Promotion Act, a notice must be
posted at least 90 days prior to the exam. The
Commissioners need to develop some sort of timeline, as the written exam is now
the last step of the promotional process. Chairman
Ubl asked Chief Riddle to review what this process will entail, as this is the
first time that he and Commissioner Dailey will be involved in the promotional
testing process. Chief Riddle
explained that a Firefighter is eligible to take the exam if he or she has over
five years of experience. Qualified
Firefighters must submit a letter to the Commissioners, which states their
intent to take the test. Ninety days
before the exam, the Firefighters must be given a list of the study materials,
which is obtained from I/O Solutions, the agency that will administer the
written exam. Under the Firefighters
Promotion Act, the points that are assigned by the Chief to each Firefighter
taking the exam and the military preference points, if applicable, are
accumulated and added to the oral exam score of each candidate.
Chairman Ubl asked who administers the oral exam.
Chief Riddle answered that I/O Solutions did it last time, but the
Commissioners will give it this time. Or,
the Commissioners could have another entity administer the oral exam, in which
case the Commissioners would then act as observers.
He recommended that the written exam be given no later that November 10th.
It must be graded instantly; any questions that are considered to be
“bad” are eliminated. This is
determined by a member of the
process, the preliminary list is eliminated and only a final
list is posted. Chief Riddle
answered that this is correct. Commissioner
Larson said that, in
Chairman Ubl clarified that Commission, by July 1, needs to
put out a notice that the promotional testing process will begin.
Commissioner Dailey asked if there are a certain number of openings for
Lieutenants and Sergeants that must be filled.
Chief Riddle answered that the law requires that a new list be
established every three years; any openings that occur during the life of that
list will be made from that list. Chairman
Ubl reviewed that a Firefighter must have 5 years of experience to qualify and
that they must submit a letter of interest.
Notice of the test must be posted 90 days in advance and Chief Riddle
will supply interested candidates with the study materials.
Chief Riddle will also be assigning points to each candidate.
Commissioner Larson explained that, in
Commissioner Larson asked Chief Riddle what date he thought
should be used for the written exam. Chief
Riddle answered that October 1st would be the absolute latest date he
would use for the written exam. Chairman
Ubl verified that the notice of the testing process should be posted by July 1st.
Recording Secretary Tritle asked what the deadline date would be for
receipt of the letter of intent from each candidate.
Chief Riddle suggested using July 15th as the deadline date.
Commissioner Larson stated that the union contracts state a minimum of 90
days. He noted that there is large
amount of reading material for the candidates to review, and they will be doing
this over the summer months, possibly during vacations, etc.
He said that he feels we will get better-qualified candidates if we allow
then longer than the required 90 days to study for the exam.
Chief Riddle said that he could release the reading list immediately.
Chairman Ubl suggested making the announcement of the testing process on
June 1st, rather than on the first of July.
Recording Secretary Tritle said she recalled that, during the last
promotional testing process, a letter was sent to all of the qualified Fire and
Police Departments candidates to inform them that the process was coming up.
She said that an announcement was made that could be posted in each
department as well. She verified
that the Commissioners wanted the announcement to be sent to the candidates on
June 1st, with the letters of intent due back by June 10th.
After that, the study materials would be released and the written exam
scheduled to be given on October 1st.
The Commissioners all agreed. Chairman
Ubl added that the Commissioners could set the date for the oral interviews at
another time, as long as they are done prior to October 1st.
Chief Thomas reminded him that the oral exam must be completed prior to
the administration of the written exam. Commissioner
Dailey asked if the oral exams would then need to be done sometime in September.
Commissioner Larson said that he thought so, adding that they could
schedule a few each night. Chairman
Ubl agreed. Commissioner Larson
pointed out that October 1 is a Saturday. Chief
Riddle said that he believes Saturday is a good day on which to administer the
written exam. Recording Secretary
Tritle said that she would check and make sure that I/O Solutions is available
on this date. She asked the
Commissioners for an alternate date, just in case I/O Solutions is not available
on a Saturday. She suggested any day
during the week of October 3rd. The
Commissioners all agreed. Chairman Ubl asked how many of the Firefighters are
qualified to take the promotional exam. Chief
Riddle answered he thought that there are eight who are interested.
Chief Thomas asked the Commissioners to remember that they also needed to
conduct the promotional exam for Police Sergeants.
Recording Secretary Tritle said that the Police and Fire exams were all
given at the same time during the last testing process and wondered if they
would be able to be done together this time.
Chief Thomas said that he believed that they could.
Recording Secretary Tritle said that the Police Sergeant’s list also
expires on November 1, 2005, and wondered if they could get both testing
processes done by then. Chief Thomas
explained that their test is conducted in much the same way – the Chief can
assign up to 10 points for merit to each candidate and up to 15 points for
seniority. 40% of the written exam
score is added to these points along with 35% of the oral exam score.
He believes that the testing for Police Sergeant can be done on the same
dates as the Fire Lieutenant’s test, along with nearly the same procedure.
He added that the Police promotional exam does not need to be
administered according to any statute. He
agreed that June 1st would be a good date on which to make the
announcement of the testing process and request letters of intent by June 10th.
He will then give the Commissioners a sealed letter containing the
Chief’s points and the seniority points by August 1st.
After that date, The Commissioners can begin the oral interview process.
The written exam can be administered on the same day that the Fire
written exam is given. Recording
Secretary Tritle asked if this meant that the Police Department would also
reverse its testing order for the promotional exam, administering the oral exam
before the written portion. Chief
Thomas said that would be perfectly fine with him. Chairman Ubl asked if the
Chief’s and seniority points are posted when they are received.
Chief Thomas answered that they could be, if that is what the
Commissioners choose to do. However,
the Commissioners actually only need to produce two lists – the first list
that has the Chief’s and seniority points as well as the written and oral exam
scores all added together, and a final list that includes military preference
points. He reiterated that he would
not object to the Commissioners posting a third list consisting only of the
Chief’s and seniority points. He
said that these points are 25% of the candidates’ total score.
Commissioner Larson said that he knows military preference points may
only be applied once in any promotional testing process.
Therefore, if a candidate has a large lead in score over the other
candidates, he asked if the candidate still needed to apply for military
preference points or if they could be used another time.
Chief Thomas answered this was correct, adding that the military
preference points are not a percentage – they are 5 raw points added on to the
total score. Chairman Ubl asked if
the oral exams for Police Sergeant would also be completed prior to the written
exam. Chief Thomas answered that
this was correct. He added that he
thought there were 10 qualified candidates in his Department.
Chief Riddle added that, under the Fire Promotional Act, all of the
candidates must be given an oral interview, which is not the case with the
Police; only those who pass the written exam are given the oral exam.
This is going to make the oral exam process more time-consuming this
time. Chairman Ubl asked if the
police candidates were grandfathered out for educational requirements (even
though they all do happen to have them), for this testing process.
Chief Thomas answered this was correct.
Recording Secretary Tritle verified that the procedure will be the same
for both Departments – all
interested candidates will take the oral exam prior to the written exam.
Commissioner Larson asked if the union contracts were in agreement with
this. Chief Thomas said they are,
due to the fact that it is up to the Commissioners as to when interviews of
candidates are to be conducted. Chief
Thomas added that, if the Commissioners wished to conduct the Police Sergeant
oral exams after the written exam is administered, that is okay as well – it
is their decision.
Commissioner Larson asked if there was a minimum passing
score for the Police Sergeant exam. Chief
Thomas answered that was up to the Commissioners.
He added, however, that he does not believe there should be one.
Commissioner Larson said that
Commissioner Larson asked how the position of Acting Officer
is filled in the Police Department; i.e. is the person who is ranked #1 on the
list always made the Acting Officer, or can the person ranked #4 also be put in
that position? Chief Thomas answered
the position is assigned based on the Officer’s ranking on the Sergeant’s
eligibility list. Chairman Ubl asked
if the “Rule of Three” could apply here.
Chief Thomas answered that, due to the fact that they have three
different shifts, they usually go by the person’s ranking on the eligibility
list. Chief Riddle said that,
in the Fire Department, the Union contact states that the acting Officer is the
most senior member on the shift. Commissioner
Larson pointed out that the Fire Department could then possibly have a
Firefighter who only scored 40% on the written exam assigned as the acting
Officer on his shift. He added that
this is his main concern about not requiring a minimum score on the written
exam. Chief Thomas reiterated that
their acting Officers are assigned by their ranks after all of the scores are
combined. Commissioner Larson said
that this helps to curb a candidate who has achieved a low written score from
being the acting Officer. Chief
Thomas agreed, adding that this candidate will also not get promoted.
Chairman Ubl asked if an Officer with many years of service would receive
a large number of seniority points. Chief
Thomas answered this was correct – up to 15 points.
Chairman Ubl said that, in this case, even if this candidate receives a
low written score, his or her overall score could be boosted by the seniority
points to the point where he or she could possibly be promoted.
Chief Thomas said that the Chief’s points might possibly help in this
situation, as well as the fact that a candidate in this position will probably
score poorly on the oral exam. Chairman
Ubl said there is no guarantee on this. Chief Thomas added that he does not
believe that any candidates were eliminated from the last promotional exam.
Recording Secretary Tritle said that she does not remember a minimum
score being used last time. Chief Thomas said it was up to the Commissioners as
to whether or not they wished to set a minimum score for the written exam – he
added that he did not care either way.
His experience has shown him that, the difference between someone who
scores a 70 and a 69 is very minimal. He
believes it is unlikely that they will have a candidate score a 40, 50, or even
a 60; he believes that the scores will be very close.
City Attorney Foster asked what the highest score is that a candidate
could receive. Chief Thomas answered
100%, but this 100% only translate into 40 points, since the written promotional
exam score is 40% of the overall score. He added that the 10 potential Chief’s
points awarded to a candidate are important because it is a lot of points.
Chairman Ubl said he thought the Commissioners now have a
good idea as to how this process works, though the Chiefs may have to walk them
through a few of the steps. Chief
Riddle said that he would try to put together a list of the steps to share with
the Commissioners. Chairman Ubl said
that they also had the instructions that were put together for the Commission by
City Attorney Foster, though they will still need to go through the process
slowly. Recording Secretary
Tritle verified that the Commissioners agreed that the written exam for the
Police and Fire Departments could both be given on the same day.
She would like to know for sure so that she can pass this information on
to I/O Solutions. The Commissioners
agreed. Chief Riddle pointed out
that having I/O Solutions come out only once would help to cut down on the costs
as well. Recording Secretary
Tritle asked if an outside person was needed to act as the proctor for the exam.
Both Chiefs said that they would come up with proctors.
Chairman Ubl asked Chief Thomas if he had checked on
individuals or organizations that they could use to administer polygraph tests.
Chief Thomas said he would put together a list for the Commissioners.
·
Fire Chief
Chief Riddle had no other business to report.
·
Police Chief
Chief Thomas had no other business
to report.
CLOSED
SESSION
Motion
A motion to go into closed session to discuss personnel matters was made by Commissioner Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
Closed session began at 11:20 a.m.
Motion
A motion to return to open session was made by Chairman Ubl and was seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
Open session reconvened at 11:35 a.m.
CONTINUATION
A motion to continue the meeting on Friday, May 13, 2005 at
9:00 a.m. to review the amendment to the Rules and Regulations was made by
Chairman Ubl and was seconded by Commissioner Dailey
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
May 13, 2005
The meeting was called to order at 9:20 a.m.
In attendance were Commissioner Richard Ubl, Commissioner
Chairman Ubl explained that the reason for the continuance
of the May 9, 2005 meeting was to approve the Resolution to the Rules and
Regulations of the Sycamore Police and Fire Commission.
This amendment would now require that candidates for the position of
Police Officer must have completed no less than 60 hours of post secondary
education at an accredited college or university prior to making application for
the position.
A motion to adopt the Resolution to the Rules and
Regulations which requires that candidates for the position of Police Officer
must have completed no less than 60 hours of post secondary education at an
accredited college or university prior to making application for the position
was made by Chairman Dailey and was seconded by Commissioner Larson.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
Chairman Ubl said that, now that this Resolution is adopted,
the Commissioners would proceed to advertise the announcement for the
establishment of a new eligibility list for the position of Police Officer.
This announcement will include the fact that at least 60-hours of college
credits are now needed in order to be qualified to test for the position.
Recording Secretary Tritle stated that the Chronicle could
publish the notice of the Resolution in the Monday, May 16th, edition
of their newspaper. She asked City
Attorney Foster if the Resolution becomes effective today, even though the
public is given 10 days from the date of publication of the notice to express
any concerns they may have about this amendment.
City Attorney Foster answered that this was essentially correct, though
it is effective now in terms of the prerequisites that will be required of the
candidates who apply for the position of Police Officer when the Commission
advertises the commencement of the testing process in a few weeks.
Recording Secretary Tritle verified that this means it is effective on
the 13th day of May, and the 10 days referred to in the notice that
will be published starts from that date. City
Attorney Foster answered that this was correct.
Chairman Ubl asked if there was any new business to be
brought before the Commission. Recording
Secretary Tritle gave each of the Commissioners a copy of the final version of
the Annual Report for their approval. She
asked them to review it and then sign it so that it can be presented at the City
Council meeting on Monday night.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Chairman Ubl and
was seconded by Commissioner Dailey.
Vote
Ayes:
3
Nays:
0
Abstain:
0
The meeting was adjourned at 9:26 a.m.
Minutes accepted by:
____________________________________________
Richard
Ubl, Chairman
Date
Attest: