2017-03-06 - Board of Fire and Police Commissioners - Minutes VILLAGE � mm
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VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE
Board of Fire and Police Commissioners
Minutes of Regular Meeting
March 6, 2017
CALL TO ORDER and ROLL CALL:
The meeting was called to order at 6:01 p.m. by Chairman Rubin in the Trustee Conference Room at
Village Hall. Commissioner Johnson called the roll and noted for the record that a quorum was
present at the meeting. Present were Chairman Rubin, Commissioners Hartman and Johnson. Also in
attendance were Police Chief Casstevens, Deputy Fire Chief Wagner, Deputy Police Chief Szos, HR
Director Malinowski, Management Analyst Cahill, and Trustees Trilling and Ottenheimer III.
Absent were Commissioners Dibbern and Kulwin.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
A. Commissioner Hartman made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Johnson to approve the
minutes of the Regular Board of Fire and Police Commissioners (BFPC) Regular Meeting of
February 6, 2017. Commissioners Hartman, Johnson and Chairman Rubin voted in favor of
the motion. The motion passed.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT:
A. Chairman Rubin distributed an updated copy of the 2017 BFPC Activity Calendar. He noted
the Commissioners should plan on arriving to the March 15, 2017 Police Officer mandatory
orientation by 6:00 p.m., and by 7:30 a.m. for the March 18, 2017 orientation. Both
orientations will be held at the Buffalo Grove High School Theater.
Chairman Rubin asked Commissioner Johnson to notify Commissioners Dibbern and Kulwin
of the revised arrival times, and to ask Commissioner Dibbern to add a new column to the
activity calendar to reflect the times that Commissioners should arrive at subsequent events.
B. Chairman Rubin advised that he updated the orientation PowerPoint to include the new dates
and deadlines.
C. Chairman Rubin reported that Chadd Kaiser was sworn in on February 27, 2017. He asked
that all Commissioners plan on attending future Village Board Meetings when police officers
and fire fighters are being sworn in.
D. Chairman Rubin reported that Forrest Kulwin was selected to serve on the BFPC. He opined
that Forrest was the only candidate who understood and articulated the duties of the BFPC.
E. Chairman Rubin reported that he received several e-mail requests from prospective police
officer candidates for waivers and questions about preference points.
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COMMISSIONERS' REPORTS:
A. No reports.
CHIEFS' REPORTS
POLICE DEPARTMENT
A. Police Chief Casstevens reported that Lieutenant Michael Rodriguez's one-year probation
has ended, and that he successfully completed his probation.
B. Police Chief Casstevens reported that the process for selecting a Deputy Police Chief to
replace Roy Bethge has begun. Four of the six eligible officers applied for the position, and
interviews will take place on March 20, 2017. The interview panel will include Police Chief
Casstevens, Deputy Village Manager Jenny Maltas, Fire Chief Baker, Deputy Police Chief
Szos, and Russell Laine,Police Chief at the Village of Fox Lake.
Trustee Trilling asked it was a common practice to include someone from outside of the
Village for this process. Police Chief Casstevens advised that it is common for some police
departments to use an outside resource when there are strong internal candidates.
C. Police Chief Casstevens advised that an officer is on leave due to surgery and will return for
light duty in about six to eight weeks.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
A. Deputy Fire Chief Wagner reported that a Lieutenant is on leave for six months after a
scheduled surgery, which will take place on March 7, 2017.
B. Deputy Fire Chief Wagner reported that they are very pleased with the approach from the
Fire Department Investigation Team in terms of how they have handled conducting
background investigations of prospective candidates. The team would like to meet with the
Commissioners for a meet and greet at the April meeting. It was decided to hold the meet
and greet at 5:45 p.m. on April 3, 2017 before the regularly scheduled BFPC meeting.
QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE:
A. None.
OLD BUSINESS:
A. HR Director Malinowski advised that Village Manager Dane Bragg has invited the
Commissioners to attend the March 20, 2017 Village Meeting for the presentation of the
Rotary Officer of the Year for retired Police Officer Jim Harris.
B. HR Director Malinowski reported that the Village received one request for a fee waiver due
to a hardship. After a discussion with Village Manger Dane Bragg, it was decided that the
application fee for police officers will be waived for eligible hardships.
C. Management Analyst Cahill reported that the Village received more than 200 applications for
the entry Police Officer position. The fees have lagged, and he has e-mailed applicants to
advise of the deadline for submitting the requisite application fee. A discussion ensued about
how to handle check-in on testing day. Management Analyst Cahill advised that he will have
spreadsheets in alphabetical order for the registration team to use. Commissioner Hartman
suggested that he add grid lines to the spreadsheet. Chairman Rubin asked him to add a new
column to capture if candidate I.D.'s were validated. It was decided that the registration team
will use iPads to check in applicants; the team will use the data in Eventbrite and
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Management Analyst Cahill will still plan on bringing the spreadsheets as a backup in case of
system issues.
Commissioner Hartman suggested we have a separate line at registration to deal with issues
and problems. Chairman Rubin inquired about how we were going to handle situations
where candidates have applications submitted by registration without pay? Management
Analyst Cahill assured the Commissioners that this issue will be resolved before registration.
He will continue reaching out to candidates with missing application fees via e-mail to
remind them of the payment deadline.
Chairman Rubin asked Management Analyst Cahill to prepare a frequently asked questions
(FAQ) document to address issues and standard questions about the process. He suggested
posting the FAQ document on the application website.
D. Commissioner Johnson asked everyone to review and confirm the times listed on the BFPC
activity calendar.
NEW BUSINESS:
A. Police Chief Casstevens presented on the proposed amendments to the BFPC Rules and
Regulations to change the minimum passing score for new hires and promotions. He is
proposing a minimum score of 70 as the final cutoff. Police Chief Casstevens gave two
reasons why the Commissioners should support the change: (1) He feels if a candidate
cannot attain a minimum score of 70, the candidate should not be on the list; and(2) Officers
were embarrassed for attaining a low score and being on a public list. Commissioner
Hartman inquired if we should table the vote until all Commissioners are present. Chairman
Rubin advised we have a quorum and the proposal was discussed at the February meeting.
Commissioner Johnson made a motion to approve the amendment to the rules to include a
minimum score of 70 or above to be considered for a fire fighter of police office with the
Village of Buffalo Grove, seconded by Commissioner Hartman. Commissioners Hartman,
Johnson, and Chairman Rubin voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed.
Chairman Rubin inquired about who would take the lead on writing the proposed language
for the rules and regulations amendment relating to the change in minimum score. Police
Chief Casstevens agreed to prepare a draft and present at the April meeting.
B. Commissioner Hartman led a discussion on proposed amendment(s) to BFPC Rules and
Regulations to include BFPC access to employee discipline records, after the final promotion
list has been published. Commissioner Hartman's request is based on wanting clarity on how
employees with disciplinary problems, who are on promotional lists, are handled. Police
Chief Casstevens assured the BFPC that he would evoke the "Rule of Three"to address this
issue. Depending on the nature of the disciplinary matter,Police Chief Casstevens, with the
"Rule of Three," could bypass candidates on the list. After the discussion, it was determined
that the BFPC Rules and Regulations did not require any changes relating to this matter.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
A motion was made by Commissioner Hartman, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, for the Board
to adjourn to a Closed Executive Session as authorized by Subsection 2(a) of the Illinois Open
Meetings Act [51LCS 120/2(c)(1)] for the purpose of discussing personnel matters. Commissioners
Hartman, Johnson, and Chairman Rubin voted in favor of the motion.
The Commission moved to Executive Meeting from 6:57 p.m. to 7:08 p.m.
A. Executive Session — Discussion of Personnel: Section 2(C) (1) of the Illinois Open Meeting
Act.
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RETURN TO OPEN SESSION:
The open session resumed at 7:08 p.m.
A. Police Officer Candidate: Samuel Savage. A motion was made by Commissioner Johnson,
seconded by Commissioner Hartman to make a conditional offer of employment to Police
Officer Candidate Samuel Savage. Commissioners Hartman, Johnson, and Chairman Rubin
voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed
B. Firefighter/Paramedic Candidate #10: Jason Rothenberg. A motion was made by
Commissioner Johnson, seconded by Commissioner Hartman to make a conditional offer of
employment to Fire Fighter Candidate Jason Rothenberg. Commissioners Hartman, Johnson,
and Chairman Rubin voted against the motion. The motion failed.
C. Firefighter/Paramedic Candidate #11: Nicholas McDowell. A motion was made by
Commissioner Hartman, seconded by Commissioner Johnson to make a conditional offer of
employment to Fire Fighter Candidate Nicholas McDowell. Commissioners Hartman,
Johnson, and Chairman Rubin voted against the motion. The motion failed.
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by Commissioner Hartman, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to adjourn the
meeting at 7:16 p.m. All Commissioners present voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Adriane L. Johnson,Acting Secretary
Board of Fire and Police Commissioners
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