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1981-01-12 - Village Board Committee of the Whole - Minutes SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OF THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, HELD MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1981 , AT THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 50 RAUPP BOULEVARD, BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS. President Clayton called the meeting to order at 7:35 P.M. Roll call indicated the following present: President Clayton; Trustees Marienthal , Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, and Gerschefske. Also present were William Balling, Village Manager; William Raysa, Village Attorney; William Sommer, Assistant Village Manager; William Brimm, Finance Director; Police Chief Harry Walsh; Deputy Police Chief Arthur Voigt; Fire Chief Wayne Winter; Paul Kochendorfer, Village Treasurer. COMMUNITY GOALS FOR 1981 President Clayton noted her memo of January 2, 1981 identifying Community Goals for 1981 . LAKE MICHIGAN WATER Mr. Balling stated that, pursuant to Article XVII of the Allocation of Water from Lake Michigan, all allocants have 30 days from the date of the order to petition the Department of Transportation for a re-hearing or re-consideration. The Village staff has reviewed the allocations in light of the guidelines for re-consideration, and they recommend to the Board that no action be taken for re-consideration. Buffalo Grove received a full allocation, meeting its request through the year 2000; however, the growth estimate of ! DOT is some- what less than Buffalo Grove's request. There is a substantial amount of water held in reserve by the Department of Transportation for the purpose of future demands, and it is felt that this will be more than ample to cover our needs. Mr. Balling stated that there will be a discussion next Monday considering the areas of regional water transmission, the allocation itself, the status of Well #7, and other matters. MUNICIPAL DATA PROCESSING PROGRAM President Clayton commended Mr. Brimm and Mr. Kochendorfer on the thoroughness of the report dated January 8, 1981 . Mr. Brimm and Mr. Kochendorfer then answered questions from the Trustees, and explained the research done which led them to their decision, as well as their findings of other communities ' installations. Mr. Brimm stated that one of the main reasons that the IBM system was chosen is because of the support they offer after the purchase of the equipment. He also explained the way personnel would be used to operate the system, and stated that it was not expected to require any additional personnel . He then explained how the programs of other departments would be added to the system. Mr. Kochendorfer noted an addendum to the price sheet, explaining that there was a feature on the machine which they opted not to get in order to save $5,000. It was then decided that this would be a feature which would probably be added in the future. Mr. Kochendorfer then noted that the original price would be $2,500, but it would cost $5,000 to upgrade the equipment; therefore, this $2,500 item was added to the original price quotation. President Clayton asked if there were any objections to proceeding ahead with this system. There were no objections. Mr. Brimm stated that contracts would be brought before the Board for execution, along with a request for bid waiver, at the next Regular Meeting. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE JANUARY 12, 1981 PAGE TWO Mr. Balling thanked Mr. Brimm and Mr. Kochendorfer for the excellent job which was done. REORGANIZATION OF POLICE AND FIRE COMMISSION - EMPLOYMENT CRITERIA FOR MUNICIPAL FIRE DEPARTMENT Trustee O'Reilly stated that the proposed ordinance is recommended by staff. She stated that, in the past year, she has observed the Police and Fire Commission to be a highly professional group of people. Mrs. O'Reilly feels there should be a few changes to the proposed ordinance, and that the composition of the Commission should remain with the citizens, rather than adding staff members. She feels the changes to the ordinance could be made by having preference points for personnel who are currently in the department because of their experience and dedication to the Village, and the expansion of the Commission to a 5-member citizen Commission. Mr. Balling summarized his memo of January 8, 1981 to the Board concerning the Police and Fire Commission (on file in the Clerk's office) . Trustee Stone stated that he feels the proposed change of policy to restructure the Police and Fire Commission defeats the purpose of having a buffer between the police officers and the staff. He is opposed to that change, and feels there should be 5 members of the Police and Fire Commission, but that they should all be citizen members. Trustee Kavitt stated that he has no objection relating to expanding the Commission to 5 members, and he has no objection to the Village Manager inter- viewing candidates for employment, but feels the appointment authority should remain with the Commission. Trustee Hartstein agrees with Trustee Kavitt regarding appointment authority. He also feels the Commission should be expanded, and that staff expertise should be given to the Commission, but tends to prefer that the Commission consist of 5 citizen members. Police Commissioner Spinner stated that, when there is a testing of candidates, the Chiefs would always be welcome to sit in on the interviews. Trustee Marienthal feels that the Commission should be expanded to 5 citizen members, but that both the Police and Fire Chiefs should be ex officio members. Police Chief Walsh commented on the proposed ordinance, and stated that he feels the Police Chief and the Fire Chief should have some input as to candidates hired. He stated that he feels that it is very important for personnel in the Police and Fire Departments to feel secure with the Police and Fire Commission. Fire Chief Winter stated that, since Fire personnel have never been under a Police and Fire Commission before, this is something new to them. He stated that he does like the idea of having some input as to candidates to be hired. Police and Fire Commissioner Doerrer stated that he feels that the respective Departments should have a voice in hiring, at least in an advisory capacity. President Clayton asked for questions from the audience. President Clayton explained the steps taken by the "Talent Bank" committee in the appointment of Police and Fire Commissioners, as well as other commissioners. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE JANUARY 12, 1981 PAGE THREE Mr. Balling stated that, although he has not totally worked it out, he envisions some form of administrative review when the eligibility list is presented to him. He envisions a formal recommendation of the Police and Fire Commission to him in a preliminary rank order, along with the pertinent informa- tion for administrative review. Police Chief Walsh stated that 2 points in a competitive examination for Police officers is a significant amount ; he then explained the point system. Mr. Balling stated that the points would not be given unless the candidate met the basic requirements. President Clayton polled the Board: "Yes" indicates favor of expanding the Police and Fire Commission to 5 citizen members and to allow 2 preference points as outlined in Mr. Balling's memo of January 8, 1981 , with all other items to remain governed by State Statutes; "No" indicates opposition: YES: Marienthal , Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske NO: None President Clayton polled the Board: "Yes" indicates favor of having the Fire Chief and Police Chief and a personnel officer as ex officio members of the Commission (non-voting members) ; "No" indicates opposition: YES: Marienthal , Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske NO: None Mr. Raysa asked for the authority of the Village Board to come back to give his opinion as far as the correlation between what the Board wants to do and some objections which he may have as far as the State Statutes. President Clayton stated that the Board would appreciate his input. Mr. Balling stated that the positions for the Police and Fire Commission should be filled by the February 2, 1981 meeting, as the testing for Fire Department personnel should begin almost immediately. Trustee Stone commented that the pension rules now state that no one can be hired over the age of 35, and noted that there are currently 4 members of Buffalo Grove, Inc. that are over that age limit. He stated that some arrange- ments must be made to waive that rule on a one-time basis. Mr. Raysa stated that the contract that the Village made with Buffalo Grove, Inc. states that the Village will hire in accordance with our personnel rules and regulations and what we deem necessary to hire. Trustee Stone thinks some steps should be taken so that we can accommodate and hire the 4 people currently with the Buffalo Grove Fire Department. It was stated that it should be concurrent with the input of staff and the present Chiefs. President Clayton declared a recess from 9: 10 until 9:20 P.M. Mr. Balling clarified the following item: Division 2.1 presently has a 35 age restriction. The Village would be required to liberalize that according to our Home Rule powers for the 4 personnel that would be exempted from that rule. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE JANUARY 12, 1981 PAGE FOUR Mr. Balling then highlighted the proposals in his memo of January 8, 1981 on Fire Department Personnel Policies. It was Mr. Balling's intent that Buffalo Grove match the contributions to the Pension Plan by the employees up to 71% of their wages, which would be the same match of the employees that are under 35. President Clayton polled the Board: "Yes" indicates favor of permitting the election of the 4 individuals, at their discretion, into the ICMA retirement corporation; "No" indicates opposition: YES: Marienthal , Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske NO: None President Clayton polled the Board: "Yes" indicates favor of the Chief determining if he wishes to participate in the ICMA retirement or IMRF; "No" indicates opposition: YES: Marienthal , Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske NO: None Mr. Balling then noted page 2 of his January 8, 1981 memo regarding residency requirements. He stated that it is proposed that 1 and 1/2 miles residency from the station be used by paid on-call personnel , and a 3 mile radius residency policy be used for full -time personnel . He proposed that either policy be somewhat flexible to account for special conditions to be evaluated by the Chief. Chief Winter then commented on the residency requirements and stated that these limits have worked well for them in the past. President Clayton asked if there were any objections to the residency requirements. There were none. Mr. Balling explained the Salary Range Recommendations for FY 81-82 on page 1 of his January 8, 1981 memo, and answered questions on same. Mr. Balling's proposal is that the Board vote on the ranges outlined as a guideline. Dis- cussion on the pay scale followed. Chief Winter stated that his department now pays at the exact mean average of 9 surrounding communities; however, the mean of the surrounding communities is at the top of Buffalo Grove's pay scale, which means that his current personnel will not receive a raise this year. President Clayton polled the Board: "Yes" indicates favor, for purposes of budget procedure, that the Fire Department salary range will be on a parity with the Police Department range, that being Firefighter/Paramedic-Patrolman , Lieutenant-Sergeant, Captain-Commander; "No" indicates opposition: YES: Marienthal , Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske NO: None Mr. Balling stated that there are several other items which are of a budgetary nature and will be fed into the budget. Moved by Kavitt, seconded by Stone, to adjourn the meeting. Upon voice vote, the motion was unanimously declared carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:44 P.M. a:ryl Janet Sirabian, Village Clerk