02/21/07 Board of Public Safety Minutes

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r~o 4 a 1 1 1 PUBLIC AGENDA SESSION FEBRUARY 21, 2007 The Board of Public Safety met in the Public Agenda Session at 8:10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 with President Jesusa Rodriguez, Board Members Donald Alford, Patrick D. Cottrell and Bruce J. BonDurant present. Board Member Juanita Dempsey was absent. Also present were Police Chief Thomas Fautz, Assistant Fire Chief Rick Switalski and Board Attorney Thomas Bodnar. The meeting was held in the Board of Public Works Meeting Room, 13~' Floor, County City Building, South Bend, Indiana. Board members discussed the following item(s) from that list: - Minutes There were no corrections to the minutes. - Addition of Agenda Items Chief Fautz stated that the Police Department had two additions to the agenda. The first was the January 2007 statistics and the second was a letter of donation to the South Bend Police Department K-9 Unit by the St. Joseph County Library in the amount of $125.00. - Findings -Police Department Mr. Bodnar submitted the Findings in the Anthony Ross grievance and stated that the Findings were prepared to reflect the Board's decision. - Towing Statistics -Police Department Mr. Bodnar noted that the number of tows was down for 2006. - Minimum Manning -Fire Department Mr. Bodnar stated that due to the small agenda of this meeting, he had requested the Fire Department to present to "the Board the minimum staffing requirements of the Fire Department. Mr. Bodnar indicated that this report is presented annually when time allows. Assistant Chief Switalski reviewed the submitted Article 20 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement which sets out the requirements of manpower on duty in a twenty-four hour shift, regulates the ten year Contract with the County for Paramedics and the Contract with Memorial Hospital's Neo-Natal Unit, and regulates time off for emergency leave. Mr. Alford stated that in his three years on the Board there had not been any minorities hired into the Fire Department and he was concerned about the hiring practices. Assistant Chief Switalski stated that the Fire Department makes attempts to go out and recruit from the Hispanic and African American communities, but they don't have a good response. He also noted that there is more of a problem in passing the written tests in those communities. The ranking system is based on their score on the written and oral test. The Agility Test is a pass or fail test. In an attempt to get more Hispanic and African American recruits, the Fire Department offers a tutoring session the week before the written test, free of charge. Assistant Chief Switalski noted that they still have a low turnout from those communities and the Fire Department is concerned about this and continues to work to correct the situation. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, President Rodriguez declared the meeting adjourned at 8:45 a.m. anita Dempsey, Member Patrick D. Cottre 1, Member _~~~~~.° Donald L. Alford, M ber