Village of Western Springs Public Health and Safety Committee met March 7.
Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:
Members Present:
William Siffermann, Chair
Berry Allen, Trustee
Staff Present:
Chief Patrick Kenny, Fire & EMS
Chief Brian Budds, LES
Shaun O'Connor, LES
Staff Not Present:
Deputy Chief Gary Mayor, Fire & EMS
Deputy Chief Daniel Albrecht, LES
Public Present:
Mary Ann Quinlan
Electronic Attendance: None.
#1 Call to Order and Approval of Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 am on Wednesday, March 7, 2018.
Motion: Trustee Allen made a motion to approve the minutes, of January 31, 2018, meeting. Chair Siffermann seconded the motion to approve the minutes and they were approved by unanimous vote.
#2 Public Comments
Mary Ann Quinlan was present to make a short informational presentation on the Be Smart Program. The program is an educational program in order to help reduce child gun deaths. A PowerPoint presentation is included in the program. Ms. Quinlan explained what each letter of the acronym SMART stands for. The program sentation is about 45 minutes, which includes a PowerPoint presentation. The program is not for children, it is geared towards adult gun owners.
Chair Siffermann asked how old the program was. Ms. Quinlan responded that it was three or four years old. The organization that sponsors it is Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and that organization is five years old.
Chief Budds asked if the organization has reached out to LTHS. Ms. Quinlan reported that she had not reached out Lyons Township but spoke with Superintendent Barnhart briefly about the program. She stated that Superintendent Barnhart was supportive of the idea but not necessarily of this particular program.
Chair Siffermann suggested that parent-teacher organizations at the various levels might welcome the presentation at one of their organizational meetings.
Ms. Quinlan wanted to make the Village aware of the organization and others similar to it.
Trustee Allen asked Chief Budds if there was a way for the Village to communicate the information that could be effective. Chief Budds reported that there were multiple ways to spread the information, the use of social media and Tower Topics being some. He would also like to discuss it at a staff level and with the Committee more.
Chair Siffermann suggested Ms. Quinlan and other members of her organization possibly make a presentation to the Board in the future.
#3 Police Department 2017 Community Survey Summary
Chief Budds went over the Police Department 2017 Community Survey Summary. Chief Budds gave credit for the completion of the surveys and the summary to CALEA Accreditation Manager, Cynthia Gonzalez. She works on this program for the entire year by sending out weekly department surveys.
The methodology for the summaries consists of fifteen monthly surveys being sent out to Western Springs' residents who had contact with the police department. The following criteria is used for the surveys.
-The incident had to involve a resident of Western Springs or a business inside the Village limits.
-Incident reports, including crashes, could be used.
- Traffic stop contacts were not selected.
- Agency members were represented evenly as possible in the survey mailings, to attempt to get an overall view of the agency as a unit, not the performance of employees.
Chair Siffermann asked why traffic stops are not surveyed, and if that was just this year or always.
Chief Budds responded that it has never been included in the survey. The CALEA standards state those responses are not required and they are typically a negative interaction with the public. We do have other methods to observe traffic stops and check officer's traffic stops to make sure proper procedures are followed.
Trustee Allen asked why the surveys are not sent out to residents who did not have direct interaction with the police, as another method of a random control survey.
Chief Budds reported that on the Village website you could fill out a survey. It is also run in Tower Topics as a reminder that the survey is on the website.
Trustee Allen asked if the CALEA standard prohibits the surveys from being sent to any resident. Chief Budds replied no, but a random survey sent to someone who did not interact with the police they might be surprised receiving one and the survey questions are geared more towards people who have interacted.
Chief Budds reported that 180 surveys were mailed out in 2017. Of those, fifty-four were returned for a return rate of 30%.
Chief Budds went over each individual questions.
- Question 1: What was the nature of your recent contact with the Western Springs Police Department?
- Question 2: Please check the Western Springs Police employee with whom you had contact.
- Question 3: How would you rate the person in the following categories?
- Question 4: Rank the top three most important police services with 1 being most important, 2 being second most important, up to 3.
- Question 5: Please check the appropriate box to rate the performance of the Western Springs Police Department.
Chair Siffermann reported that he was surprised that there were no responses in the survey for the High School Officer. He reported that from the reports he reads in regards to the school, he thought that the parents of these students would have been satisfied and would have appreciated the intervention of the School Officer. Chief Budds reported that what might have contributed to the lack of response is that typically the tickets, arrests, or incidents that occur at the school, involve non-resident students.
Chair Siffermann asked if there is the possibility of having the school conduct a survey for the students and their parents who have reported the crimes. Chief Budds reported that it is something that we can look at doing in the future. Chief also stated that there could be other things included in the survey.
Chair Siffermann asked who created the original survey. Chief Budds responded that the former CALEA Manager, Bruce Longino was the one who created the original Siffermann asked if there were other models that the survey could follow. Chief Budds said modifications to the survey could be made. Chief Budds reported that the changes could be made in the middle of the year or possibly wait until 2019.
Chief Budds reported that in regards to question 3, there was an overwhelmingly positive response in the rating. The Chief noted that the Department has several newer officers who are still learning parts of the job themselves.
Chair Siffermann noted that question 3 does not give a breakdown of the background of the respondents in response to the cultural sensitivity section. Chair Siffermann noted that he would have liked to see what the respondent's definition of cultural sensitivity means. Chief Budds responded that it is something that can be looked at how to possibly break it down or defined the question better.
Chief Budds reported that in regards to Question 4, Rank the top three most important police services, crimes against the person(s) was at its highest last year. The majority of the responses are the same year to year.
Chair Siffermann reported that youth-related problems appear not to rank very high, it suggests to him the benefit of a School Resource Officer that the resources offered to assist with the low scoring.
Trustee Allen asked for clarification on the perception of youth-related problems and youth mental health not being the same. He does not look at youth-related problems as necessarily crime related. Trustee Allen stated that youth-related mental health issues seem to be on the rise and asked Chief Budds if the department does training for mental health situations.
Chief Budds reported that the Police Department is very involved with the Fire Department on training and dealing with mental health issues. The Police Department deals with mental health-related issues on an almost daily basis in some form. We also collaborate with the schools, the school administration, Pillars, and the Living Room. Chief Budds reports that some parents might not realize that the police are well trained in this area and hopes to continue to change that perception.
Chair Siffermann stated that the issue might be the wording of the question with youthrelated problems. Youth related problems to some people can mean youth-related crime and not problems the youth have or problems the community youth related.
Chief Budds reported that question 5, Please check the appropriate box to rate the performance of the Western Springs Police Department, and has always been overwhelmingly positive.
Trustee Allen asked if they could get a trend representation of over the years for question 5. Chief Budds stated he could send the members the trend in an email.
Chair Siffermann reported that he looks at question 5 of the survey is based on the person's review of the police department as a whole.
Chief Budds noted that this is the first year in recent memory that he has not had to make any calls to any respondents of the survey.
Chief Budds reported that Manager Gonzalez provided a summary of how the survey compares to the previous years. In 2012, we enhanced the surveys with mailings going out more often and a higher return rate.
Chair Siffermann asked about changing the wording on the summary from feelings in the second to the last paragraph to opinions. Chair Siffermann also requested a cover letter from the Chief on his response to the survey and an explanation of the survey.
#4 2017 Fire Department Annual Report
Chief Kenny went over the Fire Department's annual report. Chief Kenny explained that the new format of the annual report is online instead of a hard copy. Chief Kenny went over certain sections of the report focusing on the key accomplishments. Chief Kenny went over the key accomplishments of 2017.
Page 6
-The Paid on call Fire Academy was conducted including a few surrounding towns.
-The FD took delivery, placed into service, and trained on the replacement pumper.
-Updated the Village's Emergency Operation Plan.
-Continued Comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures
-Several Table Top exercises with AMITA Health.
-The department completed the upgrade to the fire protection system in accordance with a 2015 ordinance.
-Conducted personnel evaluations of all Paid on Call members
-Participated in an Assistance to Firefighters Grant with La Grange and La Grange Park.
Page 7
- Overview of Captain Steve Heinzelman's assistance in regards to Hurricane Harvey.
Page 8
- Chief Kenny reported on the results of the Fill-the-Boot campaign. The Department raised $12,757 for MD.
Page 9
-Chief Kenny went over the Scholarship in Lt. Jacobson's name. Chair Siffermann asked who is eligible for the scholarship. Chief Kenny reported that it could go to full or paid-on-call employees. Chair Siffermann asked if it was only for our department, and Chief Kenny reported that it might not. It depends who is worthy.
Page 17
-Chief Kenny reported on members of the department who went through voluntary training.
Page 19
- Chief Kenny gave an overview of the department's yearly training and the total training hours conducted which was over 9000 hours. Trustee Allen asked if Chief Kenny knew the breakdown of hours per person. Chief Kenny responded that it was over one hundred hours.
Page 20
-Chief Kenny reported on Fire Marshal Kelly's, the Fire Prevention Bureau, and the services that they provided throughout the year.
Page 34
-Chief Kenny finished going over the annual report by describing what the goals for 2018 are. They include the activating the replacement ambulance, a promotion process for the position of Lieutenant, upcoming retirements, and the Rescue Task Force Training. Chief Kenny reported there would be another live scenario training exercise. He reported that the FD would utilize mobile CAD and transfer records from Firehouse to Aegis Fire Records. They have an intern who would be assisting with the process. There will be a new recruitment for 2019 paid on call Fire Academy. Complete Advanced Paramedic Training in Pediatric Advanced Life Support, incorporate the Medical Reserve Corp (MRC) more, add a new Fire Investigator, submit a grant for the SCBA, and train a new Hazardous Material Technician.
Chair Siffermann reported that he thought it was a good idea to focus on the highlights that were identified and the strategic goals that were accomplished.
Trustee Allen reported his concerns about staffing and wished Chief Kenny luck in being able to fill the specialty positions. Chief Kenny reported that some of the positions might become a shared process among the neighboring towns. Trustee Allen asked about incidents by location in the annual report in previous years. Chief Kenny reported that when they changed to the new CAD, it could not pull that data. The hope is that once the migration to Fire Records is complete, they can generate that report.
#5 Other
Chief Budds wanted to address the changes to the Peer Jury Program because of changes to the Juvenile Act. Due to the changes to the Juvenile Act, the Village's legal counsel recommends the Peer Jury Program be suspended until the department can get legal clarification from the Village's legal counsel and from the State of Illinois counsel on the program.
Trustee Allen asked if we have already suspended the program. Chief Budds reported that it has been indefinitely suspended.
Chief Budds reports that there is currently no timeframe to reinstate the program.
Chair Siffermann reports that he would like to see the Peer Jurors involved in the program not suffer from the suspension. They could use the time to conduct training or other forms of participation.
Chief Budds reports that once we have more clarification on what will happen in the program, it will be brought back to the Committee for an update. Chief Budds also reported that we are already taking measures with the changes to the other aspects of the Juvenile Act.
Adjournment:
Motion: Trustee Allen made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:09 a.m., Chair Siffermann seconded the motion, and the motion to adjourn was approved by a unanimous vote.
http://www.wsprings.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_03072018-693
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