2025 01-15 Board of Public Safety Meeting Minutes

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JANUARY 15, 2025 16 11. The Chair will retrieve the Clerk’s sealed envelope containing the results of electronic voting then open and read aloud the contents of the results at the election meeting. 12. After confirming which two (2) candidates were elected by the members, the Chair will confirm which Commissioner will serve a four (4) year term, which will be based on which candidate received the most votes. If there is a tie, the members physically present will vote to determine which candidate will receive the two (2) or four (4) year term. 13. The appointed Chair of the election meeting will provide notice to the Clerk of the Board of Public Safety concerning the election outcome and duration of the terms of the elected Commissioners. 14. Unless otherwise determined by the members, the election meeting may be attended by members through electronic means. Attorney Weiss this resolution is very similar, but there are some differences from the police. One other difference between the boards that was not highlighted before is the term for the police board is a five (5) year term, while the fire board appointment is a four (4) year term. The initial appointments will serve for only two (2) years on each of the boards to make it kind of staggered. Attorney Taylor noted that Police are following this statute to an extent like the notice requirements for the election, but their processes and terms are different, so that is a notable point. He wanted to be clear that these discussions and production of this resolution did have input from the Union, particularly from the Union President, Eric Griffin. They’ve tried to spell out as many things as possible and make this as quick of a process for the firefighters as it can be. Only members can attend the meeting. There's a notice that's attached in the file. That notice, according to statute or statutory requirements, must be posted at the fire department for the full three (3) week period. That was the minimum period that you could have for notice. The vote is going to happen through a website that the City will send out a link for, and the firefighters will have an opportunity to review all the applications they received online, basically they will vet them after the legal department as specified in here, and make sure that they meet the statutory requirements. There are quite a few requirements that have to be met, and we are asking the Board to approve that because that isn't something that's clear in the statute. That is something that we are asking for clarification on because I think without some of those terms, it would be a really messy process that could result in Commissioners being elected that do not meet the statutory requirements. Pam Claeys emphasized that she doesn’t think the political affiliation should be a part of the this, but the Indiana Legislature did. Attorney Weiss advised that on the application form they included where they can go to get that information, so it is easier for people to figure that out if they want to apply. The application form is on the City’s landing page and on the Board of Public Safety page. Pam Claeys asked how this will be communicated to the public that may not know about it but may want to participate. Attorney Weiss noted that Legal has inquired about the possibility of doing a press release, but she does not have an answer on that. A lot of it will be word of mouth. The other positions will be subject to whatever internal process the Mayor’s office or Council uses. Upon a motion by Darryl Heller, seconded by Pam Claeys, and followed by a roll call, the Resolution was approved. 5. FILE QUARTERLY TRAVEL AND TRAINING REPORT Chief Buchanon submitted the quarterly travel and training report.