Public Safety & Transportation Committee

Village of Lombard Village Hall 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Monday, February 6, 2017 7:00 PM Lorraine G. Gerhardt Community Room Public Safety & Transportation Committee Trustee Dan Whittington, Chairperson Trustee Mike Fugiel, Alternate Chairperson Jennifer Perkins, Michael Corso, John Larkin, John Schwarz, Robert Corbino, Gary Cation, Jerry Schaefer and John Mullins Public Safety & Transportation Minutes February 6, 2017 Committee 1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Whittington at 7:00 PM. 2.0 Roll Call Present 7 - Dan Whittington, Mike Fugiel, Jennifer Perkins, Michael Corso, Bob Corbino, Jerry Shaefer, and John Mullins Absent 3 - John Larkin Jr., John Schwarz, and Gary Cation Others Present: Reid Foltyniewicz, District 3 Trustee Scott Niehaus, Village Manager Chief Byrne, Police Department DC Tom Wirsing, Police Department DC Roy Newton, Police Department Sgt. Joe Grage, Police Department Chief Sander, Fire Department AC Howell, Fire Department 3.0 Public Participation 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Bob Corbino, seconded by Michael Corso, that the Minutes of the November 14, 2016, meeting be approved. The motion carried unanimously. 5.0 Unfinished Business 6.0 New Business 170046 2018 Budget Forecast & Plan Development 2018 Budget Planning Discussion. Trustee Foltyniewicz explained that once again all of this presentation will be given to all of the committees. Having this committee involved in the discussion helps the Finance Committee as Public Safety is involved with the Police and Fire Departments every month. It's great to have an extra set of eyes on the budget. Niehaus said that he wanted to give the committee an overview of where the budget is and provide information regarding Village of Lombard Page 1 Public Safety & Transportation Minutes February 6, 2017 Committee recommendations given by the department heads and the Village Manager's office to the Finance Committee concerning savings coming from the Police and Fire Departments. Niehaus went on to say as in past years, village staff will also talk to various organizations such as Rotary, Kiwanis and the Chamber as well. Staff is currently projecting a $600k deficit for 2018. The deficit has to be covered half in expense reductions and half in revenue. Corso asked if there has been any issues with the increase in the places for eating tax. Niehaus replied that last August the Village held a meeting regarding the increase and invited 150 restaurants. A total of 5 came for the meeting. The Village also sent out a reminder on December 1st. It's now in place, but the Village has not received receipts yet. There are new restaurants opening, so clearly the 2% tax hasn't scared people away. Trustee Foltyniewicz added that the restaurants that have closed, have not closed due to the tax. They've had reasons such as lack of space, bad location, etc. Niehaus went on to say that staff started communicating early so that we were able to get out ahead of it. The restaurants were told before the Board voted on it in mid-August. Another tough decision the Board made was to eliminate the taxi subsidy. The Village was paying $50k for a service that the Township and County provide as well. Trustee Foltyniewicz said that they went to talk to residents of Lexington and Beacon Hill face to face. They were angry to begin with, but once we heard the services they receive from their respective facilities and explained that this could mean peoples jobs, they were more understanding. It was not popular, but it was better for the Village than losing a core service. Niehaus went on to say that the Village will use $300k from last years $800k to cover the revenue side of the upcoming deficit. All assumptions at this time are that the State is going to give the Village it's portion of taxes. He further added that the numbers do not include Mariano's, Sam's Club, etc. Schafer asked about the real estate taxes. Niehaus replied that the discussion within the state is there will likely be a two year freeze. Lombard is only 7% of the tax bill and we're limited by state statue; we can't go over that. Those funds are generally dedicated towards pensions and liability insurance. When the tax bills go out in April we'll remind people that we're about 7% of the bill. Through the survey that was done it was learned that 40% of Lombard citizens thought we accounted for about half of the tax bill. DC Wirsing reviewed the Police Department proposed budget options. There are several frozen positions that the department feels can be eliminated. Additionally, one of the front desk clerks has retired. In looking at surrounding towns, about 68% do not have a desk clerk Village of Lombard Page 2 Public Safety & Transportation Minutes February 6, 2017 Committee working at night. We are able to move the midnight person to afternoons and the other to mornings. There are some facility changes that will have to be done, but there won't be any decline in service. People will be able to walk into the vestibule pick up a phone and an officer will come to them. As far as the towing Coordinator position, he is a long time employee who had plans to retire soon anyway. DC Wirsing explained the proposed elimination of CodeRed pointing out that Village staff did not use it at all in 2015 or 2016. The Village communicates quite well through social media. Some of the calls that did go out, were not necessarily emergencies and it appears that approximately 50% of the calls failed anyway. Residents can also sign up for enhanced 911. Schafer asked if the $175,000 in Police Department reductions represents a percentage of the budget. Niehaus replied that he did not know that figure handily, but it does save over 50% of deficit. Chief Sander reviewed the Fire Department proposed budget options. One part-time administrative secretary will be retiring in the fall and that position can be absorbed by redistributing the work load to the existing part-time and full-time positions. The only caveat is that the Administrative Coordinator is new and still learning the job. He went on to say that the Department feels very strongly that Public Education is a core service of the Fire Department. Staff feels we are best positioned to give this training and reach people, and we get a lot of benefit out of it as well. The kids bring the education and information home to parents. The department also participates in senior fairs, etc. To do it on duty would be very disruptive because of the amount of calls the department receives. Niehaus added that this program was eliminated in 2007 or 2008 and then reintroduced. It's something that management brought up as to whether it was a core service, so this is information that is very helpful. Based upon the surveys it is agreed that this is a core service. Schafer asked if there are any fees charged when someone is not transported. Chief Sander answered that if treatment is administered there is a treatment charge, but there is no fee if neither treatment or transport is provided. Chief Sander added that the Fire Department also supports eliminating code red. Niehaus explained that these are all things that we are not ready for yet and he would envision these issues coming back to the committee before implementing. Chief Sander reviewed the Ambulance Fee Survey. Lombard has not increased fees since February of 2009 even though Medicare and Medicaid have gone up. The ALS 2, which is more than 3 procedures, is about $1,800 across the board. The 2nd page of the report Village of Lombard Page 3 Public Safety & Transportation Minutes February 6, 2017 Committee compares surrounding towns and districts. Lombard is next to last, so there is an opportunity to look at increasing the fees. Perkins asked if Medicare or private insurance covers at least a portion of the cost for ambulance transport. Chief Sanders replied that yes, Medicare does and the Village has to accept what they pay, but for private insurance we bill the user for the remainder. Trustee Foltyniewicz added that there are $30k of ambulance bills that aren't paid. Chief Sander replied that the Village does write off some, but not sure how many. Trustee Foltyniewicz went on to say that it is a large amount that is left off the table because we're non-home rule. If they don't pay it, nothing happens to them. Chief Sander replied that we do have a third party vendor that does collections. He went on to add that a lot of departments are now charging for rescues, however, there is some question whether we would be eligible since we're non-home rule. Another possible revenue is Tollway billing. Lombard has an intergovernmental agreement with the Tollway, but has not been billing them since 2010. It's not a lot of money. They allow $300 per vehicle, but we can't double bill; we can't bill the Tollway and insurance. AC Howell mentioned that the department is also looking at increasing efficiencies such as including other inspections during liquor establishment inspections. Mullins asked if there are there fees if they are non-compliant. AC Howell answered that there can be for some things, but we make every attempt to work with the business. Most times the businesses are very easy to work with. Mullins asked if there is a strike three. AC Howell replied that potentially their liquor license could be suspended. Niehaus added that we can also get judgements of $750/day, but we're not in it for the money we want compliance. Mullins said he was just wondering if there are companies that tell you what you want to hear and then don't comply. Niehaus replied that the Village won't issue their license if they owe us money. 7.0 Other Business Corso asked if there has been any talk about raising parking at metra. Trustee Foltyniewicz replied that it hasn't been looked at. We want to stay competitive though, because we also want to get people from other towns. 8.0 Information Only 150468 Fire Department Reports/Information 150469 Police Department Reports/Information Village of Lombard Page 4 Public Safety & Transportation Minutes February 6, 2017 Committee 9.0 Adjournment A motion was made by Jerry Schaefer, seconded by Michael Corso, to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 PM. The motion carried unanimously. Village of Lombard Page 5