Police Commission

POLICE COMMISSION January 28, 2021 Minutes VIA ZOOM MEETING PRESENT: Chairman Jim Sponaugle, Commissioner Trish Hansen Commissioner Liz Starr, Chief F. Michael Catalano, and Deputy Chief Paul Sandy. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Police Commission was held on January 28, 2021 via Zoom Meeting. Comm. Sponaugle called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. A. MINUTES – On the motion of Comm. Hansen the Commission approved the minutes of the December meeting as written. B. BILLS –The Commission reviewed the December bills totaling $20,465.11 and were approved on the motion of Comm. Hansen, second by Comm. Starr. C. REPORTS – The reports as approved on the motion of Comm. Starr, second by Comm. Hansen, were highlighted as follows: 1. Year-To-Date Budget – It was noted that the budget was over by 15.8% ($605,203) for the year. The majority of the overage was caused by overtime due to shortage of staff, adjustment made to the Crossing Guard budget due to the Covid-19 pandemic, retro payments and Holiday pay budget being calculated on past years. 2. Vehicle Maintenance – K9 Officer Ken Bush is being moved from Car #24 to Car #16 to avoid unknown future costs due to high mileage on Car #24 (over 100,000 miles) 3. Overtime - Various categories of overtime hours were reviewed, with the notation of the decrease still due to the COVID-induced decrease in special details. 4. Other Activities Report – It was pointed out that even though the total number of Service Request Calls was at an all-time low, the numbers for Domestic Incidents and Mental Health Reports were quite a bit higher. 5. SPCA Report – The SPCA report was reviewed with note of 307 complaints handled year-to-date, 33 of which were after-hour calls. A total of 28 tickets were issued for the year. 6. Parking Tickets - Number of tickets continue to be lower than last year’s monthly count. There was talk of changing parking limits to 4 hours instead of 2 on some streets and 5 hours instead of 3 in the parking lots. 7. Detective Bureau Cases – There were a variety of crimes investigated by the Detective Bureau for the month including rape, burglary, larceny and weapons. These investigations led to 11 adult arrests. 1|Page OLD BUSINESS A. EO 203 RECOMMENDATIONS – The Chief and Deputy Chief apprised the Commission on the current status of the Governor’s Executive Order (EO) 203. It was suggested there be a special meeting to discuss it. Meeting was set for February 3, 2021. B. UPDATE ON CHIEF CATALANO RETIREMENT – If there is no appointment of a new Chief once Chief Catalano retires, Deputy Chief Paul Sandy will become Acting Chief. NEW BUSINESS C. PERSONNEL UPDATES – The Chief described the most recent personnel issues for the Commission as follows: 1. Confidential Secretary Diane Ferri has retired as of 1/22/2021. Administrative Aide Nancy Sutliff is retiring at the end of business on 2/26/2021. Both will be returning on a part-time basis to cover office duties until the new Chief hires a full time Senior Account Clerk. The new position will be covered by the SEIU contract. 2. Paige Kinner has been hired to replace Officer Derrick Edick who left in November. This still leaves 3 open spots due to the transfer of Officer Trevor Wenz, and the retiring of Officers William Bernheim and Bradley Becker. It is hopeful these positions will be filled from the new list which comes out on February 5th and all will be sent to the Academy in March. 3. Officer Moran and Officer Knapp are both still out. K-9 Rush has been deactivated and sold back to Officer Moran. OTHER BUSINESS A. COMMENDATION, APPRECIATION, CORRESPONDENCE REPORT - 1. Mr. George Lundy sent a card thanking the Department for the vehicle escort of the ambulance transporting his father to Oswego. 2. Mr. Nicholas Lundberg sent a letter thanking Officer Adam Troyer and Officer Kristyn Drake for their exceptional professionalism in handling an incident at his house. 3. Ms. Whitney Meeker sent a letter of retirement as Cortland County Coroner and thanking the Department. 4. Officer Trevor Wenz submitted an Administrative Report advising Chief Catalano of his transfer to Onondaga County and thanking the Department for their professional and training opportunities. 5. Officer William Bernheim submitted a letter informing the department of his retirement. 6. An email from Ms. Khette Faberzak thanking Deputy Chief Paul Sandy for being a positive influence on her husband 30 years ago and helping him have a successful and happy life. 7. A letter from Chief Catalano to Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Hansen for their generous donation of $150.00 to the Community Oriented Policing Program. 8. Chief Catalano thanked Ms. Nancy Snedeker for her generous donation of $200.00 to the Community Oriented Policing Program. 2|Page  9. Retired Police Officer David McNeil from Michigan requested a City of Cortland Police patch to add to his collection. Chief Catalano sent him one. 10 Mr. Erik Bitterbaum and Ms. Ellen Burton from SUNY Cortland sent a letter noting changes to the university brought about by the pandemic. 11. Officer Bradley Becker sent a letter informing the Department of his retirement. 12. Ms. Kristina Petrella sent an email to Chief Catalano and Deputy Chief Sandy thanking several officers who helped CPS with some situations they had. 13. Chief Catalano sent a letter to Ms. Paige Kinner informing her of the approval of her request for employment. 14. Officer Adam Troyer, Officer Kyle Green, Officer Jared Aiken and Officer Brendan Byrnes were sent letters of commendation for various investigations throughout the city. 15. Confidential Secretary Ms. Diane Ferri submitted her letter of retirement effective at the end of business January 22, 2021. B. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS – Comm. Starr inquired about promotion of a new Chief and when it would be. It would need Council approval. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, on the motion of Comm. Hansen, Second by Comm. Starr, the meeting was adjourned at 11:15 AM. Respectfully submitted, Nancy A Sutliff Administrative Aide 3|Page