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HomeMy WebLinkAboutF&P Meeting Minutes 022222City of Galesburg Board of Fire and Police Commission • Public Safety Building 150 South Broad Street • Galesburg, IL 61401 • 309/345-3729 • www.ci.galesburg.il.us City of Galesburg Operating Under Council – Manager Government Since 1957 Board of Fire and Police Commissioners TO: Board of Fire and Police Commissioners Chairman Robert Fulton, Commissioner Thomas Peters, Commissioner Diane VanHootegem FROM: Amanda Jennings, 9-1-1 Coordinator/Administrative Support Supervisor DATE: February 22, 2022 SUBJECT: February 22, 2022 Board of Fire and Police Commissioners Meeting Minutes The regular meeting of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners was called to order by Chairman Robert Fulton on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 10:02 a.m. Those present in person were: Commissioner Thomas Peters, Commissioner Diane VanHootegem, Deputy Fire Chief John Seitz, City Attorney Bradley Nolden, Firefighter Joseph Brignall, Secretaries Jenni Moser and Amanda Jennings Those present by phone were: Chairman Robert Fulton and Fire Chief Randy Hovind Public Citizen Comment None Approve Commissioner VanHootegem motioned to approve the minutes of the December 20, 2021 regular meeting. Commissioner Peters seconded the motion. Minutes approved. Commissioner Peters motioned to approve the special meeting minutes for December 20, 2021 with Commissioner VanHootegem giving the second motion. Motion carried. Correspondence None Old Business The Fire Department is down one employee until the Fall Academy. A candidate declined the position right before the swear-in. They will be starting backgrounds on several more candidates. Discussion was held regarding the City’s nepotism policy and a current candidate. The Police Department has two Officers possibly leaving in March for the Illinois State Police. Another Officer may also possibly resign soon to move closer to his home town. Lt. Worsfold retired last week. The Commission scheduled a promotional swear-in ceremony for Sgt. Legate and Officer Mings for Monday, April 4, 2022. Commissioner VanHootegem will conduct the ceremony. City of Galesburg Board of Fire and Police Commission • Public Safety Building 150 South Broad Street • Galesburg, IL 61401 • 309/345-3729 • www.ci.galesburg.il.us Chief Hovind emailed the Commission with information regarding residency points. Firefighter Brignall has been assisting in the research of the points. They are following Urbana’s policy and the points do seem to help with diversity. Further discussion was held on the pros and cons of adding residency points to the Rules and Regulations. Chief Hovind advised emails have been sent to interested candidates and advertising will start soon for fire entry testing. They are working on a recruiting video and mentoring sessions will start next month if there is interest. Chairman stated it is disheartening to see candidates not do well on the written test. He is hopeful that studying and offering tutoring will help. Chief Hovind wants to help candidates prepare. Chief also added that CPAT testing is now available statewide and Peoria will be hosting opportunities. They will be reaching out to get the dates. Brignall believes this will help local candidates. He is also hopeful that residency points will help with retention. The Police Department is also having a video created for recruitment. They are attending several new college career fairs this Spring. New Business Police Entry Level Testing is scheduled for Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. Commissioner VanHootegem will not be available. Discussion was held on the physical agility portion of the test and it was decided against having candidates perform the agility test. Interviews were set for May 31st and June 1st, 2022 with a start time of 9:00 a.m. Chairman Fulton requested 20 minutes time slots for the interviews. Preference points will be due on June 13, 2022 and the final list will be published on June 17, 2022. Fire Entry Level Testing was scheduled for Saturday, September 17, 2022. Orientation will begin at 8:30 a.m. and testing will start at 9:00 a.m. Chief Hovind and Deputy Chief Seitz will arrange for volunteers to run the physical agility. Interviews will take place on September 27th and 28th, 2022 and will start at 9:00 a.m. with 20-minute timeframes. The Police Promotional Written Exam will be held on Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in the Public Safety Building Auditorium. Commissioner VanHootegem will not be available on this date. Interviews are scheduled for September 6th and 7th, 2022 for the top 10 Sergeant candidates and Lieutenants. Interviews will start at 9:00 a.m. with 20 minutes increments. Bradley Nolden advised the Board that the City Council adopted a Strategic Plan that includes Public Safety. The Department Heads will be very involved and the Commission may be a part of the diversity goal. This goal is for the workforce to be aligned with the community by 2027. Chairman Fulton added the Commission is all in favor of diversifying the Departments but they will not be in favor of lowering standards. Chief Hovind mentioned the biggest hurdle will be to prepare candidates for testing and get them to test which will require more community education. All agree that this will not happen overnight but progress can be achieved. Bradley also stated other goals may include increasing staff. The City will be conducting surveys and studies to gather information. Commissioner VanHootegem requested the Commission received the data on diversity so they can be more informed on how to reach the goal. Adjournment There being no further business, a motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Commissioner Peters and seconded by Commissioner VanHootegem. Meeting adjourned at 10:36 a.m. The next regular scheduled meeting will take place on Monday, April 18, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. in the Administrative Conference Room, City Hall, Galesburg, Illinois.