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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 10/9/2006 - Finance and Personnel Committee FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING Monday, October 9, 2006 Aldermen's Conference Room, 7:00 p.m. `-- In Attendance: Committee Members: Chairman Alderman Murgatroyd, Alderman Schaefer and Alderman Peterson. Absent: None. Also in Attendance: Mayor Low, City Administrator M�einer, Chief of Police O'Meara, Director of Finance Black and City Clerk Jones. Also in Attendance: John Eder Eder, Casella& Co. Chairman Alderman Murgatroyd called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Presentation of 2005/2006 General Puraose Financial Re�ort Chairman Murgatroyd introduced John Eder, principal of Eder, Casella& Co. Mr. Eder provided the Committee with an overview of the 2005/200b General Purpose Financial Report. He complimented the City regarding the good order of their records. Mr. Eder provided a summary of the financial statements. Mr. Eder informed the Committee that the audit was conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards. He provided a brief overview of the City's financial position. Mr. Eder suggested Eder, Casella assist the City in getting the fund balances into the � system to expedite future audits. Chairman Murgatroyd thanked Mr. Eder for his concise summary of the 2005/2006 Financial Report. OrQanization Structure and Staffine Levels in the Police Denartment City Administrator Maxeiner informed the Committee that for the past several years the McHenry Police Department has been organized into two divisions: • Field Operations Division; and • Support Services Division. Deputy Chief Brogan has overseen Field Operations, which is broken down into the Patrol Section, Criminal Investigations Section (Detectives) and Community Service Section (Community Service Officers and Crossing Guards). Six sergeants, two per shift, provide direct supervision to the Patrol Section and an additional sergeant heads the Criminal Investigations Section(detectives). Deputy Chief Wigman, until recently, supervised the Support Services Division, which covers the Plarming, Research and Information Technology Section, Communications Section (dispatch) and Records Section. One sergeant works in the division providing direct supervision of dispatch an�i records management. The CALEA certification process is also within this division and is-he direct responsibility of the deputy chief. � City Administrator Maxeiner requested Police Chief O'Meara to provide the Committee with additional background information. Finance and Personnel Committee Meeting October 9, 2006 Page 2 � Police Chief O'Meara informed the Committee that for the past three years or more, the department has discussed changing the structure once the initial CALEA certification process was completed and Deputy Chief Wigman retired. The new structure would call for a single deputy chief. However, three sergeants would be reclassified to shift commanders. One commander would oversee the Patrol Division, a second would supervise a new Investigations Division and a third would direct the Support Services Division. The commanders would assume more administrative responsibility than the sergeants thereby easing the burden on the lone deputy chief. Chief O'Meara stated that according to department research, the addition of commanders to the organizational structure is most effective when staff levels reach approximately 60 sworn personnel. He noted that at the time the plan was put together, it was felt that sworn officer strength would be closer to 60 by now, based upon the population growth of the community. Chief O'Meara informed the Committee that sworn officer strength in the department is currently 49. During budget deliberations in Spring 2006, it was shared with the Finance and Personnel Committee that under the proposed reorganization, the Support Services Deputy Chief position would likely not be filled when Deputy Chief Wigman retired. With the pending retirement of Deputy Chief Wigman, the department is now forced to determine if the time is right to pursue the new organizational structure or whether to remain under the two deputy chief system. � City Administrator Maxeiner stated the Police Department has been monitoring how the commander system works in other departments. It has been noted that implementation of this structure has, in some instances, led to some adverse consequences. Specifically, there have been instances observed where the department has become more factionalized with restricted information flow through the chain of command. This issue, combined with the smaller than anticipated size of the McHenry Policy Department, leads Staff to recommend leaving the current two deputy chief structure in place for the next four or five years, while keeping tabs on how the issues with the commander structure plays out in other communities. City Administrator M�einer informed the Committee that the 2006/2007 budget includes funding for two deputy chiefs for a full year. Maintaining the status quo would not require any amendments to the current budget. Chairman Murgatroyd expressed disappointment that the prior decision regarding restructure was not based on adequate information regarding the IT position. Chairman Murgatroyd requested that better more comprehensive questions be asked in the future before a decision is reached. Responding to Alderman Peterson's inquiry, Chief O'Meara stated tha.t CALEA provides some guidelines regarding organizational structure, but nothing definitive. � Responciing to Chairman Murgatroyd's inquiry, Chief O'Meara indicated the position of Deputy Chief is appointed statutorily by the Police Chief. Finance and Personnel Committee Meeting October 9, 2006 Page 3 `-- It was the consensus of the Committee that the current two deputy chief structure should remain in place� as recommended by Staff. New Business Finance Director Black provided the Committee with information regarding the 2007 deregulation fc►r commercial power generation. He stated he has received information from ComEd indicat'rng a 37.5% increase in power and water and a 21% increase for street lights. He noted that several cooperatives exist and the City has the option of going out on its own. Adiournment Motion by Sch;iefer, seconded by Peterson, to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m. Aye: Schaefer, Murgatroyd, Peterson. Nay: None. Absent: None. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, ��� � Steven C. Murgatroyd, C air an � �