Peoria Standard

City of Peoria Fire and Police Commission met August 2.

Here is the minutes provided by the Commission:

Roll Call:

The Board of Fire & Police Commission meeting was called to order by Chairman Lynn Pearson.

Commissioners present: Lynn Pearson, Tom Jackson, Leonard Unes, Janda Carter, Tom Burke and William Watkins

Commissioners absent: Tom Higgins

Others present: Human Resources Coordinator Debra Bush, EEO Manager David Watkins, Fire Chief Charles Lauss, Assistant Police Chief Lisa Snow, Police Chief Jerry Mitchell, and Jay Pearson

Approval of Minutes:

Janda Carter moved to approve the minutes of Regular Meeting, July 5, 2017, as presented and receive and file; seconded by William Watkins; all approved 6-0.

Communications:

A.Letters of Commendation – Police Officer Ryan Isonhart, Firefighter Nicholas Hansen, Fire Department Intern Carson Cheeseman, Fire Captain Mark Huebner, Fire Battalion Chief Michael Morgan, Firefighter Matthew Smith, Fire Captain Larry Carter, Fire Engineer Gregory Parker, and Firefighter Adam James

Tom Jackson moved to receive and file the Letters of Commendation communication; seconded by Tom Burke; All approved 6-0.

Old Business:

A.Timeline and Recruiting Efforts – Police Chief Jerry Mitchell stated that they have stopped the Police Recruit Examination process, recruitment and postponed the hiring of six Police Recruits due to budget constraints. They also have three Police Cadet job openings that they will wait to fill until there is a better picture of the budget.

Fire Chief Charles Lauss stated that they are down eight Firefighters right now and will be down 22 by the end of the year. They have also stopped the recruitment process.

B.Review/Approval of Preference Points – Fire Chief Lauss stated that the Fire Department would like to give 5 points for residency; 5 points for Military and 3 points for City of Peoria Cadet. To get the preference points for Cadet, they must have been in the City of Peoria’s program or completed a paid internship.

Tom Jackson moved to approve the preference points for Fire as follows: 5 points for residency; 5 points for Military and 3 points for being a City of Peoria Cadet; seconded by William Watkins; All approved 6-0.

Police Chief Mitchell stated that the Police Department would like to hold off on applying preference points to Explorers or Cadets at this time.

Assistant Police Chief Lisa Snow stated that if the Cadets are in good standing with their grades, etc., they could be afforded an interview for the Police Recruit examination process.

C.Review/Approval of Ordinance 17,380 Update – Debra Bush stated that the Police and Fire Departments had presentations to be presented to the Commission and if approved, the two will be combined into one for a presentation to the City Council.

The Police Department’s presentation was titled, “City of Peoria Police Diversity Report 2017.” Assistant Police Chief Snow started the presentation talking about the Police Explorer program which teaches high school age kids 14-20 the fundamentals of policing. Currently there are 22 active Explorers with a breakdown of 10 white males; 5 black males; 2 Hispanic males; 3 white females; 1 black female and 1 Asian female.

Assistant Police Chief Snow talked about the Police Cadets. They started out with 10 Cadets hired in 2016 and currently have 8 in the program. The Cadet program combines a quality education with on the job learning.

Assistant Police Chief Snow stated that the Police Department Hires demographics were as follows:

2015 – 66.7% white male; 0.0% white female; 11.1% black male; 0.0% black female; 0.0% Hispanic male; 0.0% Hispanic female; 11.1% Asian male; 0.0% Asian female; 11.1% other male; and 0.0% other female.

2016 – 45.8% white male; 20.8% white female; 16.7% black male; 12.5% black female; 4.2% Hispanic male; 0.0% Hispanic female; 0.0% Asian male; 0.0% Asian female; 0.0% other male; and 0.0% other female.

2017 - 41.7% white male; 25.0% white female; 16.7% black male; 0.0% black female; 8.3% Hispanic male; 8.3% Hispanic female; 0.0% Asian male; 0.0% Asian female; 0.0% other male; and 0.0% other female.

Assistant Police Chief Snow stated that the Police Department Separations for 2015-2017 were as follows: 72.3% white male; 2.1% white female; 8.5% black male; 10.6% black female; 4.4% Hispanic male; 0.0% Hispanic female; 2.1% Asian male; 0.0% Asian female; 0.0% other male; and 0.0% other female.

Assistant Police Chief Snow stated that the Police Department wants to recruit by growing our own, casting a wide net of advertising sources; recruitment in other cities/trades and preparing candidates for the testing process.

The Fire Department’s presentation was titled, “Diversity Initiative Peoria Fire Department.” Fire Chief Charles Lauss started the presentation talking about the Initiatives of Change, which was C.A.S.E.Y. In 2016, the Fire Department brought in Tanya Cleveland from the Houston Fire Department to discuss what C.A.S.E.Y. meant. C is for Cultivate; A is for Advise; S is for Support; E is for Empower; and Y is for Youth. C.A.S.E.Y. is a High School mentorship initiative focusing on fire services and EMS.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that they have overhauled their interview process by restructuring the committee and using HR Fit, a redeveloped evaluation instrument for interviews.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that in 2016 the Fire Department entered into a joint partnership with the Peoria Public School and Illinois Central College to establish a dual credit WCTC program for Seniors with classes in EMT and Fire Service Technology. Fire Chief Lauss stated that they have also been working with the Horizon Club and ELITE Mentorship.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that in 2016 they redeveloped the Fire Cadet Apprenticeship program. In 2016, they hired three Cadets; 1 black male; 1 white male and 1 black female. In 2017, they hired three Cadets; 1 black male; 1 Hispanic male and 1 white female.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that the Fire Explorer program operates independently of the Peoria Fire Department. They are looking to expand from 20 to 30 Explorers. They want additional attention on inner city youth and met with Dr. Desmoulin-Kherat from District 150 to get this process started.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that they have increased their recruitment activities in 2016-2017.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that 192 compliment when all Fire positions are filled, which would be 6 Battalion Chief's; 57 Fire Captain’s; 57 Fire Engineers; and 72 Firefighters.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that service diverse personnel that have separated the City of Peoria since 2014 was as follows: 2 black males (2014); 1 black male (2015); 1 white male; 1 black male; and 1 Asian male (2016). Prior to 2016, the last member hired from the protective class occurred October, 2008, after litigation and the last female was hired in April, 1998.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that the diverse members hire since 2016 were as follows; 1 Hispanic male and 5 black males (2016); and 1 black male (2017).

Fire Chief Lauss stated that the current hiring pool results are as follows: 160 potential candidates; 155 males (128 white males; 15 black males; 7 Hispanic males; 3 Asian males; and 2 other males) and 5 white females. The candidates had to pass the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) and written examination to be in the pool. Just as a note; the State of Illinois (65ICS 5/10-2.1-6.3) “Firefighter Hiring Act” dictates hiring administration of hiring rules.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that the Fire Department is currently interviewing 72 candidates and those that pass will then be interviewed by the Fire and Police Commission.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that the Fire Department is ready to respond to diverse change in their Staff.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that Fire Division Chief Philip Maclin did the PowerPoint presentation and did a great job.

The Commissioners thanked the Fire and Police Departments on the presentations and they look forward to the presentation to the City Council.

Lynn Pearson asked if there were any questions and David Watkins asked if some additional information could be added to the slides. Mr. Watkins stated that maybe adding how many applications were actually received from protected class from 2011 t0 2017 would give a good picture on how the recruitment process has improved.

Debra Bush stated that she could compile this information and get it to the Fire and Police departments for their review.

Fire Chief Lauss stated that due to the budget challenge, it is hard to keep a Fire Cadet program when you might have to lose Officers and shut down a machine.

Adjourn Meeting:

There being no further business, William Watkins moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Tom Jackson; All approved 6-0.

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