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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 1/6/2016 - Police Commission City of McHenry Board of Police Commissioners January 6, 2016 Chairman Rick Huber called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM in the City of McHenry Aldermen’s Conference Room with the following Commissioner present: Ramon Gregorio and Mike Roberts. Absent: None. Also present: Deputy Chief John Birk and Recording Secretary Marci Geraghty. Public Input: None. Consideration of December 2, 2015 Meeting Minutes Motion by Roberts, seconded by Gregorio to approve the minutes from the December 2, 2015 Police Commission meeting as presented. Voting Aye: Roberts, Gregorio, Huber Voting Nay: None Abstaining: None Not Voting: None Absent: None Motion carried. Unfinished Business a) Sgt. Eligibility List. Deputy Chief Birk told the Commission that Chief Jones will ask them to consider updating the process for establishing the Sergeants Eligibility List. He explained that currently, everyone who takes the test is included on the list based on overall scores with #1 being the person(s) with the highest (best) score. DC Birk told the Commission that most agencies have a cut-off score and suggested 70% or better on the written test to earn the opportunity to move forward to the oral exams Chief Jones joined the meeting at 4:10 PM. Commissioner Roberts suggested the cutoff could be 80% and the written test could be scored on a curve. Chief Jones stated that with the current system, officers who score poorly on the written test have false sense of success because they are able to move on to the oral interview portion of the process and suggested advancing only the top 30% or top 1/3 on the written scores. Deputy Chief Birk agreed with using the top 1/3 adding first line supervisors are the most important personnel in the agency. After further discussion, the Commissioners agreed to revise the policy to require a cumulative score (written exam + oral + Chief and military points) 75% or higher to be placed on the Sergeant Eligibility List. Roberts made a motion, seconded by Gregorio to direct staff to send the proposed revision to the Sergeants Eligibility List process to the City Attorney for review and inclusion in the Police Commission Rules and Regulations. b) Patrol Officers Eligibility List. The Commissioners and staff reviewed the status of the current Patrol Officer Eligibility list. Chief Jones announced #11 on the list is next in line. Deputy Chief Birk announced he will reserve a spot for the April PTI should the opportunity arise to hire a new officer to fill a spot that may be vacated pending a determination for disability pension by the Police Pension Board. DC Birk noted that candidates after #11 on the list are usually not available. Commissioner Roberts asked if staff thinks we should revise the current list so that we are prepared. Chief Jones and DC Birk are of the opinion there should be a 70% overall score cutoff on the Patrol Officer Eligibility List, which would compel the city to develop a new list. Chairman Huber asked what the timeline would be to begin the process if we want to make the PTI schedule. DC Birk said if we begin to advertise in mid-February we could most likely post the test in March. However, we need to confer with the City Attorney prior to beginning the process to refresh the current list. If we are cutting-off anyone with a score lower than 70% we would still be required to keep the names on the current list until their expiration even though they may have scored lower than 70%. Chairman Huber asked if we start today, when would we have a new list and DC Birk answered the earliest would be March, which could make the PTI in July. The Commissioners agreed to expedite a new list and asked staff to report on the City Attorney’s opinion at the next meeting. Gregorio made a motion, seconded by Roberts to revise the Patrol Officer Eligibility List process to establish a minimum of 70% or better cumulative overall score to make the list. Voting Aye: Gregorio, Robert, Huber Voting Nay: None Abstaining: None Not Voting: None Absent: None Motion carried. New Business At a future meeting, DC Birk will give a presentation on possible changes in the recruitment process for new police applicants aimed at hiring the best candidates with strong, long term retention. Chief Jones commented that the city has had much success with the officers hired since this Police Commission has been more selective. Communications None. Adjournment Gregorio made a motion, seconded by Roberts to adjourn the meeting. Voting Aye: Gregorio, Roberts, Huber Voting Nay: None Abstaining: None Not Voting: None Absent: None Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 PM. Next meeting of the Police Commission is February 3, 2016. Respectfully submitted, __________________________________ Marci Geraghty, Recording Secretary