Public Safety & Transportation Committee

Village of Lombard Village Hall 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Wednesday, March 4, 2020 7:00 PM Public Works Front Conference Room Public Safety & Transportation Committee Trustee Dan Whittington, Chairperson Andrew Honig, Alternate Chairperson Jennifer Perkins, Michael Corso, John Larkin, Robert Corbino, Gary Cation, John Mullins and Rick Miller Public Safety & Transportation Minutes March 4, 2020 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 6 - Dan Whittington, Jennifer Perkins, Michael Corso, John Larkin Jr., Bob Corbino, and John Mullins Absent 2 - Gary Cation, and Rick Miller 3.0 Public Participation Mr. Warren Johnson, 528 S. Main Street Mr. Johnson expressed his concerns regarding speed and volume on Main Street. He spoke about an article in the Wall Street Journal regarding pedestrian deaths being at a 50 year high. It said that sixty percent of pedestrians died on busier, multi-lane roads and died mid-block rather than at intersections. He added that last time he spoke to the committee, he mentioned that within the year, a neighbor had a vehicle end up in her front lawn. It happened again within the last two weeks. He went on to say that the issues are speed and volume. We can't do much about the volume, but you can knock down on speed. He added that of special importance is that the parkway is only about 2' wide on Main Street. If a car is traveling 30 mph it can cover quite a bit of space with a 3,000 pound vehicle in a very short time. From the cemetary to Roosevelt Road, you have at most 1.5' to 2' of parkway, but in many placed there is not a parkway. A driver would only have to be distracted for a very short time. He further added that we have a major high school in the area. Those kids are walking up and down the streets and sometimes aren't paying attention to when they cross the street. One of those kids is going to step or slip off curb and get killed. He stated that he wants the committee to consider some type of speed reduction. Of all the north-south streets in Lombard, none are 35 mph like S. Main Street from Madison to Roosevelt Road. He asked that that speed limit be reduced to be consistent at 30 mph. He added that Sgt. Menaloschino said that judges won't do anything until drivers are doing at least11 mph over speed limit, so that's a pretty quick speed at 35 mph. 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion was made by John Larkin, Jr., seconded by Bob Corbino, that the minutes of the October 2, 2019 meeting be approved. The motion carried unanimously. 5.0 Unfinished Business Village of Lombard Page 1 Public Safety & Transportation Minutes March 4, 2020 Committee 6.0 New Business 200112 Potential Fire Department Budget Options for FY 2021 Chief Sander explained that the committee will be looking at this item more in depth at the next meeting. One proposed reduction is reducing full-time firefighter/pararamedics from 63 to 60,one per shift, which could create some problems. This would be done through attrition. Another option is to reduce Lieutenant/Officer positions by three. We would then hire three additional firefighters to replace the three lieutenant positions, so we would maintain the same amount of full-time employees, but would have three less officers. We've made previous cuts including eliminating CodeRed and a part-time secretary position. We've looked at increasing revenues such as ambulance billing. We are currently at the top of where we can go as far as what our billing service tells us insurance companies will pay. We'll continue to look at grants and other savings. We are currently entering into an agreement with Glen Ellyn to cover a couple blocks of their territory. That totals about $10k in revenue. We're also looking at other things we can bill for including special event inspections, etc. The call volume has gone up year to year. Over the last year it remained the same, however, part of that is a reflection of the polar vortex last year. Chairperson Whittington commented that the Village is looking at deficit, but it's manageable. Chief Sander explained that the challenge is looking for things that will show a savings year after year. Perkins asked if the Lieutenant positions would also be reduced through attrition. Chief Sander replied that they would be. He added that the shift minimum is 16 people. If we eliminate positions it will increase overtime. Perkins commented that she is not in favor of looking to eliminate positions, she would rather look for cuts elsewhere. 200111 Fire Department 2019 Statistics and Staffing Review Deputy Chief Kickert stated that the calls for 2019 total 7,355, of which, 5,291 were EMS. This is not unique to Lombard. As far as staffing, we hired six firefighters, promoted two to lieutenant Village of Lombard Page 2 Public Safety & Transportation Minutes March 4, 2020 Committee and had three retirements and one resignation. Two people have retired so far in 2020. 200114 Proposed Police Department Budget Items and Programs for Fiscal Years 2020 2021 Chief Newton explained that the last couple years the Police Department has faced a couple of cuts in our budget. Thirty years ago the Department had 75 officers, now there are 66. Last 3 years we were at 70. The Department also closed the front desk on midnight shift. There has been no impact on service and no complaints. We are looking at how we run the department. We currently have four full-time front desk clerks in records. The plan is reduce that staff through attrition and restructure the building to an open floor plan. If a citizen comes in any clerk can handle that or answer the phone. We'll still be open 16.5 hours, but during the day we wouldn't have a dedicated clerk. Chairperson Whittington asked if there is a lot of traffic. Chief Newton replied that there is a lot of phone calls and people coming in to make a report. Lombard is unique that way. Have been to other departments and there is never anyone in their lobby. The County went to a county-wide records management program. The Department utilized New World Systems the last few years, and we have been able to eliminate that cost, although there are still some costs associated with ... We are working with IT and can probably cut that cost in half, which will equate to a $30-$40k savings. One of the hard things we'll have to discuss is crossing guards. We have outsourced to Andy Fraim for the last several years. The Village pays the bulk of the fee. We would like to get that to a 50/50 split with the school district or have the school district pay the fee in its entirety. That's one thing the Village will have to consider looking at the next three years. Part of that is paid out of a TIF agreement that expires in three years. We've also talked to District 44 about sharing the cost of a school resource officer. We have one at the high school full time, but the elementary schools sometimes need a juvenile detective. Given the amount of schools we have laid the foundation to see if the School District would be interested in paying a portion of that salary. As far as revenue, there has not been an increase in the truck permit fees in 10 or 15 years. Staff is currently studying that. That could be about $10 k. We are also looking at our ticketing system. For seatbelt or headlight out, etc., tickets start at $185 and court fees adds another $150. We can now write those tickets under compliance operation and then we can set our own fines. We'll get about 90% of the fine where we currently only get about 24%. Another option is to sell vehicles, but that would be a one time thing. We are in dire need of an undercover vehicle and a forensic style vehicle. We Village of Lombard Page 3 Public Safety & Transportation Minutes March 4, 2020 Committee no longer utilize the RV, so we could sell that and use the funds from the sale to purchase the two vehicles we need. Chairperson Whittington asked if there are neighboring towns that have a vehicle like ours. Chief Newton answered that there are, so if we ever to use one, under mutual aid we can make a call and get one. We've loaned ours out. Chief Newton added that a one of the things the Department is facing is that the training budget has taken a hit. The last two years that we've sent recruits to the academy, it was payed for by the State. Many years ago the Village had to pay, but the State made it free, but now the State is going back on that and the cost is going back to the departments. We typically send four recruits, so at $5k/head that's $20k. That's a big impact on the training budget. That's something that we're working with the Finance Department to be able to reconcile. Equipment wise, the tasers are nearing the end of life and there's new equipment, so the vendor is not supporting the old equipment. It will be a costly venture to outfit the department with new tasers. We are always in search of grants and Taser does a buy back program at $200/each. Last year the Department won a matching grant for $19k for a new fingerprint machine. As far as tasers, we would buy roughly 70. We outfit each officer. Mullins asked what the approximate cost is. Chief Newton explained that it you buy the service which includes training and the rounds during training. We've received several prices. They don't sell by the unit anymore, but generally they're $1700-$2300 per taser. We have to do a cost recovery on how the taser saves officers from injury, liability and lawsuits. 200113 Police Department 2019 Statistics and Staffing Review Chief Newton stated that last year the Department had 59,500 calls for service. That includes 911 to officer initiated. We are very busy. This past year final statistics include about 230 DUIs, 15,500 traffic stops with 9,500 tickets issued out of those, 1,262 no seat belt and 1,482 cell phone tickets. There was a total of 1,572 arrests, which equates to three-plus per day. Out of those, there were only 84 cases where we had to use some level of force. That's a credit to our officers and their skills. Use of force would include taking the taser out and pointing it at someone, that is a use of force incident and that generally calms the people. This year we've been hit by the retirement bug. We had seven retirements of officers and two civilians, as well as a couple resignations. There were four promotions. We just completed the test list and that was finalized by the Police and Fire Board last week. We are currently down six officers. We will be able to hire at least two or three officers that are already certified. Village of Lombard Page 4 Public Safety & Transportation Minutes March 4, 2020 Committee 200115 Barnacle Immobilization Device A staff recommendation to enter into an Agreement with Barnacle for use of this immobilization device, as well as their payment service. Chief Newton reviewed the item. The Department is looking for a recommendation on this. We currently have three old boots, one of which is rusted and broken. They are difficult pieces of equipment to use. This is a simple thing to use. When they want it off they pay the fee online and it unlocks it. Given a piece of equipment that is this simple to use and doesn't really have an expense to us, we would be able to recover more parking funds. Chairperson Whittington pointed out that is is safer as well. Chief Newton agreed, adding that since the boot went on left side, an officer could be in the lane of traffic. He further added that the boots are are heavy and cumbersome as well. Corso asked if the unpaid fines is scofflaws. Chief Newton replied that it's across the board. Some are just an 18 year old kid by the high school that didn't pay, people who took the train or parked in a handicap space. It seems like a strikingly high number, and it is, but it has added up over a course of many years. Mullins asked how much the unit costs. Chief Newton answered that the Village wouldn't own it, so if they don't turn it in it's up to the company to recover it. Corso recalled that we did an amnesty program in the past. Chief Newton replied that we did, but this gives the Village a vehicle to go after this specifically. He added that even if we recover $50 k, that would be great. Mullins asked if we still do they still do a mailer if you have an unpaid ticket. Chief Newton answered that we don't, but as part of the Illinois Debt Collection Program they do. We do get some collections through the income tax, but we have to submit those to the state and depending on who all they owe and how much, we may not get much back. A motion was made by Michael Corso, seconded by John Larkin, Jr., that this Request be recommended to the Board of Trustees for approval . The motion passed by an unanimous vote. 200110 Removal of Stop Sign at Taylor Road and Park District Entrance A staff recommendation to remove the stop sign which is no longer necessary. A motion was made by Michael Corso, seconded by John Larkin, Jr., that this Request be recommended to the Board of Trustees for approval . The motion passed by an unanimous vote. 7.0 Other Business 8.0 Information Only Corso asked where the speed sign that had been on Main Street is Village of Lombard Page 5 Public Safety & Transportation Minutes March 4, 2020 Committee currently. Chief Newton explained that the speed signs are not deployed in the winter due to adverse weather and wear & tear. He added that Main Street will be under construction this summer, so there is time to consider this request. During construction volume will be down as well as the speeds. He went onto say that he does not see a need to deploy it, as the department has already done speed studies there. Chairperson Whittington asked what the process is to change a speed limit. Chief Newton replied that it is arduous. Village Engineering would have to study the highway. He pointed out that Wheaton just changed speed limits throughout their whole community, but they are home rule. Chief Sander spoke briefly about the Coronavirus. Mullins asked if the Village is ready for it. Chief Sander answered that the Village is trying to stay ahead of the game. Staff participated in a webinar today, as well as a meeting with all of the department heads. It's basic prevention, wash your hands, don't touch your face, etc. Mullins asked what hospital FD would you take them to. Chief Sander replied that the paramedics would just call ahead to the hospital they're going to so they can isolate them. Chief Newton added that there are 110 isolation beds in the western suburbs. Chairperson Whittington commented that as of right now, it's not as bad it could be, but there is preparedness. There are things going forward that the will address as soon as possible. Chief Newton said that he applauds the Village for being forward thinking. 150468 Fire Department Reports/Information - New Fire Engine Purchase 150469 Police Department Reports/Information 9.0 Adjournment A motion was made by John Larkin, Jr., seconded by Michael Corso, to adjourn the meeting at 7:42 PM. The motion carried unanimously. Village of Lombard Page 6