Fire & Police Commission

FIRE & POLICE COMMISSION MEETING –Minutes Village of Hales Corners, WI September 17, 2024 5635 S. New Berlin Road President Riemer called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. 1.0 Roll Call – Present: President Riemer, Commissioners; Dzick, Mixon, Schwartz and Smyczek. Staff Present: Police Chief Cera, Fire Chief Jaskulski and Fire Captain Hammernik. Absent: Trustee Liaison Chesney. Audience: None. 2.0 Approval of Minutes 2.1 June 18, 2024 – Motion (Smyczek/Schwartz) to approve as presented. Motion passed 5-0-0. 2.2 July 16, 2024 – Motion (Schwartz/Smyczek) to approve as presented. Motion passed 5-0-0. 3.0 General Business 3.1 Chief Reports 3.1.1 Police Chief Report for third quarter – Chief Cera presented. He emphasized that staffing has been the quarter’s primary issue due to the number of officers moving out and in. The Department has an aggressive recruiting timeline for its upcoming vacancy but lacks applicants. The second focus has been budget preparation. Cuts to operations and some other factors will keep the requested increase nominal at 2.6%. Commissioner Dzick inquired why funding is not being requested for the eighteenth sworn position. Chief Cera advised that the eighteenth position historically has been vacant due to a lack of either candidates or funds. With the labor market at this time he thought it prudent to invest all available funds toward current loyal employees. Commissioner Dzick asked if there is a definitive time to move Information Technology positions to its own department as this has been on ongoing project for some years and asked if the Commission could assist in moving it along. Chief Cera indicated that is ultimately a Board decision. If the Board approves the recommendations he made in the budget he and Administrator Kulik could easily facilitate the transition. President Riemer inquired as to funding for the Police Clerk position. Chief Cera indicated that no funding was requested as the amount of administrative support needed should be no more than could be handled by a part-time position limited to any surplus funds on hand. President Riemer inquired on the status of the Detective Bureau. Chief Cera advised that discussions with the bargaining unit are soon wrapping up the details for the a new Investigator position which will replace the old Detective position. Commissioner Dzick asked if total number of calls for service are down. Chief Cera confirmed that they are and explained that the decrease directly correlates to the amount of missing self-initiated activity due to vacant positions. Public generated calls for service have not dropped and remain consistent. 3.1.2 Fire Chief Report for third quarter – Chief Jaskulski presented. He said the requested budget will be a comfortable 5% primarily due to a 6% increase in salaries which was pre-scheduled to occur in this budget. The increase will be used to restore funding to the Deputy Chief positon. It is also needed to increase Paramedic wages to retain and recruit those positions. Much time has been spent on equipment issues this quarter. Captain Hammernik has returned from hiatus to a paid on premise status and can be used as needed. A Firefighter/Advanced-EMT (Paramedic in training) position became vacant and no applications in two weeks of recruiting have been received. Captain Thorpe has resigned and that position will be vacant within two weeks. This position already has a candidate committed to fill it and can continue to be temporarily filled in an acting status by current experienced staff. These circumstances and the timing are actually good as it fits seamlessly into the succession plan for Chief. One paid on premise employee is resigning but the department already has a replacement. Call volume is still higher than previous years but it’s slowing in pace. In conjunction with Page 1 of 2 FPC – September 17, 2024  some other municipalities the department received a grant for self-contained breathing apparatus. The department also received truly appreciated donations of exercise equipment from the Dzick Family and a Forward Looking Infrared Camera (FLIR) from the Hales Corners Lions Club. Commissioner Smyczek asked for a brief explanation of what the FLIR equipment does and suggested that the department’s current FLIR unit be repurposed for Police Department use. Captain Hammernik gave a brief explanation and confirmed the transfer of use. Commissioner Schwartz asked for an update on the relationships with MATC and WCTC. Chief replied that not much has occurred due to the educational summer break. The department will have to find a new liaison to WCTC due to Captain Thorpe’s departure and he’s unoptimistic about resolving issues with MATC after meeting with the new instructional chair. President Riemer asked what the disposition of the retiring engine will be. Chief replied that it will assume the reserve position and the current reserve engine will be auctioned with an anticipated return of $50-60,000. 3.2 Presidents Report 3.2.1 Succession Planning – Police: Chief Cera indicated that by mid-2025 there should be no less than three internal candidates for Chief. His currently scheduled last working day is January 2, 2026 but he will remain available to assist the successor for four to six weeks. 3.2.2 Succession Planning – Fire: Chief Jaskulski reiterated that the potential new hire mentioned in his report would be brought on in January next year and he plans on working with the new hire for six to eight months. Captain Kastern is starting the state’s Public Policy Manager course and she’ll be eligible for consideration at the completion of the course in spring. This puts his retirement between mid-summer and the end of the year. 3.3 League of Wisconsin Municipalities Police and Fire Commission webinar – 3.3.1 This training is intended primarily for new commissioners but is open to all. Chief Cera will arrange registrations for those interested. 3.3.2 Commissioner Mixon will attend and Commissioner Dzick will advise on his availability. 4.0 Confirm Date, Time and Location of next Fire & Police Commission meeting – The date and time were confirmed by all Commissioners. At the suggestion of Chief Jaskulski the location will be the Firehouse so that an introduction to the new Fire Engine can be had. Next regular meeting set- December 17, 2024 at 6:30 PM, Firehouse (Training Room) 10000 W. Forest Home Avenue, Hales Corners. Chief Cera did ask and President Reimer agreed, to consider calling a special meeting earlier for the appointment of a police officer once a candidate has been identified. 5.0 Adjournment –Motion (Schwartz/Smyczek) to adjourn at 6:57 PM; Motion passed 5-0-0. Prepared by: Eric R. Cera, Police Chief Page 2 of 2 FPC – September 17, 2024