Police and Fire Commission

City of West Allis Meeting Minutes Police and Fire Commission Thursday, August 15, 2024 6:00 PM West Allis Fire Department 7332 W. National Ave. REGULAR MEETING AND CLOSED SESSION A. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Manthei called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm B. ROLL CALL Present: Commissioners Mark Manthei, Danielle Romain, Michelle Sutinen, Kimberly Cosby and Sagar Tolani Also present: Police Chief Pat Mitchell, Deputy Chief Chris Marks, Deputy Chief Robert Fletcher - Police Department; Fire Chief Mason Pooler - Fire Department; CAO Rebecca Grill - City of West Allis C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the July 18, 2024 Regular and Closed Session Meeting Minutes Commissioner Sutinen requested a spelling correction on agenda item 19 stating that the abbreviation PSTD should be corrected to PTSD. A motion was made by Commissioner Tolani and seconded by Commissioner Cosby to approve the minutes, with the requested spelling correction, as presented. The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Sutinen, Cosby and Tolani Nay: 0 City of West Allis Page 1 Printed on 9/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2024 D. POLICE DEPARTMENT 1. Request for approval: 2025 Operating and Capital Budget Request(s) Chief Mitchell submitted a request for approval of his 2025 Operating and Capital Budget requests. He stated that for the first time in many years, the department is not seeking any increases or decreases or to move money from line items relative to the 2025 Operating budget. Chief Mitchell stated there are three items in the Capital request budget and that Commissioners had been given detailed paperwork for review for each of these requests. He stated these capital request items were: Pistol Optic Transition Program Portable Radios Vesta Phone System Discussion ensued between Chief Mitchell and the Commissioners regarding these requests and Chief Mitchell provided additional explanation to the Commissioners relative to funding sources and product necessity. A motion was made by Commissioner Sutinen and seconded by Commissioner Cosby to approve this request as presented by Chief Mithcell. The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Cosby, Sutinen and Tolani Nay: 0 2. Request for approval: Amendment to squad purchase approved on June 20, 2024 Chief Mitchell stated that this request to purchase ten squad cars was approved at the June 20, 2024 meeting. However, he stated that since that time, the vendor reached out and provided an option to purchase hybrid squad cars in place of gas-powered cars. Chief Mithcell stated that this increased the purchase price to $675,000 vs. the originally approved purchase cost of $650,000. Chief Mitchell stated that this cost is still within the department’s budget for this purchase and was approved by the finance director as well. A motion was made by Commissioner Tolani and seconded by Commissioner Sutinen to approve this amendment as presented by Chief Mitchell. The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Cosby, Sutinen and Tolani Nay: 0 3. Request for purchase approval: SWAT Transport Van Chief Mitchell requested the approval to purchase a SWAT transport van. He stated that the current SWAT van is in poor condition and constant repair and maintenance will not help to keep it running efficiently. Chief Mitchell stated that funding for this City of West Allis Page 2 Printed on 9/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2024 request will be thru the federal asset forfeiture account and will not exceed $80,000. A motion was made by Commissioner Romain and seconded by Commissioner Sutinen to approve this request as presented by Chief Mithcell. The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Cosby, Sutinen and Tolani Nay: 0 4. Police Department Financial Report Commissioner Tolani stated that the extra money in the salary line budget item was due to the department being understaffed and was being allocated instead to assist with the purchase of the pistol optic program. Chief Mitchell confirmed that statement and noted that at the beginning of the year, the department was understaffed by six employees and even after hiring four officers over the summer, resignations and anticipated retirements by the end of the year has the department understaffed by five employees. 5. Monthly Performance Report Chief Mitchell stated that this report had been revamped and will now include significant incident and investigation highlights within this report and will not be called out in individual reports as previously. Chief Mitchell stated that the West Allis Night Out at the Farmer’s Market held on July 22nd was very well attended and the next night, McGruff accompanied by Officers attended eight neighborhood block parties. Chief Mitchell then reviewed and discussed briefly the significant incidents and investigations contained within this report. Additional discussion included Commissioner Sutinen requesting the graph referencing assault on officers also include what type of assault took place. Commissioner Tolani made mention of the park and walks increase for July and Chief Mitchell stated that he wanted the officers to engage more with the community and the skate park and Liberty Heights area were the focus areas. 6. Patrol Activity Report Chief Mitchell did not speak to anything contained in this report and the Commissioners had no additional questions or comments. The report was placed on file 7. Communications Activity Report Chief Mitchell did not speak to anything contained in this report and the Commissioners had no additional questions or comments. The report was placed on file City of West Allis Page 3 Printed on 9/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2024 8. Community Services Bureau Report Chief Mitchell spoke briefly about Vice President Harris and her unexpected visit to Milwaukee. He stated that both police and fire found out about the visit the night before but were able to secure the location and safety protocols were in place effectively and efficiently. 9. Criminal Investigations Unit Activity Report Chief Mitchell spoke briefly to the department’s involvement with the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team relative to the incident regarding five Columbus Ohio Police Officers who encountered and subsequently shot a man armed with knives in a park. He stated that the officers were in Milwaukee to assist with the law enforcement efforts with the RNC. 10. Tavern Violation Report Chief Mitchell noted that alcohol compliance checks continue to randomly take place and most recently, eight out of ten businesses were issued citations for serving alcohol to an underage person. Chief Mitchell also stated that right before the fair, another compliance check took place and that resulted in 10 out of 10 businesses issued underage drinking citations. 11. Training Report Commissioner Sutinen asked for clarification relative to the “developing but not meeting standards” statement noted for one of the recent new hires. Chief Mitchell stated that in most cases, when it is a new officer, they are not meeting standards because they are so new. Chief Mitchell stated that he will review this wording with the Deputy Chiefs and work on a modification. 12. Closed Session: Discipline of an officer City of West Allis Page 4 Printed on 9/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2024 E. FIRE DEPARTMENT 13. Request for approval: Strategic Leadership Academy contract Chief Pooler stated that after a frank discussion with Mr. Kolenda regarding funding ability and the striking of several on-site visits, the most recent contract for his services was reduced to $24,999.00. Chief Pooler stated that this would be funded thru the 2024 CPAT revenue budget and would not impact any other budget line item. A motion was made by Commissioner Romain and seconded by Commissioner Cosby to approve this request as presented by Chief Pooler. The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Cosby, Sutinen and Tolani Nay: 0 14. Request for approval: 2025 Operating and Capital Budget Request(s) Chief Pooler submitted for approval of the fire department’s 2025 operating and capital budget request. Discussion ensued between Chief Pooler and the Commissioners regarding these requests. Chief Pooler provided additional explanation to the Commissioners relative to each 2025 operating budget request. A motion was made by Commissioner Tolani and seconded by Commissioner Cosby to approve the following 2025 operating budget requests only: Increase in salary and fringe benefit accounts to accommodate the bargaining agreement with Local 342 and to fill all open positions as applicable and the 3% increase in computer and software maintenance budget line as well as all the requested capital budget requests as presented. The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Cosby, Sutinen and Tolani Nay: 0 15. Request for approval: Station 61 and 62 dorm remodel projects Chief Pooler stated that the funding for this project was already included in the cities 2024 capital improvement budget to remodel the dorms at Stations 61 and 62. Chief Pooler stated that currently the dorms are giant wide-open room so all firefighters at a station sleep in this one room. He stated that with the inclusion of different genders now, there is a level of privacy expectation among the employees. Chief Pooler stated that this remodel will create small, individual dorm rooms for each firefighter. A motion was made by Commissioner Tolani and seconded by Commissioner Romain to approve this request as presented by Chief Pooler. City of West Allis Page 5 Printed on 9/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2024 The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Cosby, Sutinen and Tolani Nay: 0 16. Request for approval: CMS Service Contract Chief Pooler stated that until recently, Community Medical Services (CMS) provided a peer counselor free of charge to assist the department’s MIH Coordinator on home visits. He stated that CMS has requested that this service now be compensated going forward. Chief Pooler stated that this request will be funded thru grant money received from the Bureau of Justice and will not be funded via any city funding. A motion was made by Commissioner Romain and seconded by Commissioner Sutinen to approve this request as presented by Chief Pooler. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Cosby, Sutinen and Tolani Nay: 0 17. Operations Division Report Chief Pooler stated that all the bureau reports have been revamped to remove fire jargon acronyms as well as some general benchmarks such as policy reviews and guideline reviews. He stated that the department will continue to track any removed benchmarks internally for accreditation reference. Commissioner Sutinen requested that these removed benchmarks still be reported to the Commissioners on a quarterly basis. Chief Pooler reviewed the fire incident included in this report. He stated that it was a basement fire and the crews were able to get it under control within 10 minutes of arrival. Chief Pooler noted that there were no injuries but that a few cats unfortunately perished. Chief Pooler also noted that West Allis crews assisted with a fire in the City of Milwaukee that took place during the RNC. Chief Pooler stated this was a two-alarm fire at a church located at 39 and Lisbon. He noted that this was great example of the shared services agreement in action. 18. Bureau of Training and EMS Report Chief Pooler stated that ground level falls are the number one calls for service for our department and most across the nation. He stated that the first highlighted call was due to a ground level fall as the patient fell as he was exiting his bathroom area. Upon discussion with the on-scene crew, the patient made mention that if he had grab bars, he would feel safer. Chief Pooler stated that our on-duty MIH provider was contacted and installed grab bars that day in the patient’s bathroom area. Chief Pooler made mention that the dispatch center had an increase in non-compliance calls at 14% which was an increase from last month at 9%. Chief Pooler stated that DC Wright has been in contact with Communication Supervisor, Doreen Blattner regarding this issue. City of West Allis Page 6 Printed on 9/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2024 19. QPR Performance Report Chief Pooler did not speak to anything included in this report and the Commissioners had no additional questions. The report was placed on file. 20. Community Risk Reduction/Support Services Division Report Chief Pooler stated that there were only five 911 related drug overdose calls for the month of July. He stated that this was the lowest number he could ever recall since the department began tracking this information. He did note however that next month the number will increase due to having four overdose incidents at one time. Chief Pooler explained that this occurred technically in Milwaukee as these individuals were found in tents located in the RV lot adjacent to State Fair Park. 21. Bureau of Fire Prevention and Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Report Commissioner Sutinen asked for clarification regarding the meaning of “Inspection hours” noted in the fire prevention activity table. Chief Pooler explained that the department does not employ stand-alone fire inspectors, so rank and file firefighters are also be assigned as fire inspectors thus performing a dual role while on duty. Those inspection hours are tracked accordingly. Chief Pooler made mention of the increase in our 911 High Utilizers Group (HUG). He noted that four of the callers live in one particular care facility and were responsible for (30) 911 calls last month alone. He noted that contact has been made with the care facility manager to resolve this issue. 22. Fire Department Financial Report Commissioner Sutinen asked about the $1500 spend out of the capital items line item and Chief Pooler stated that replacement recliners were purchased for Station 62 and two radios had to be replaced. 23. Master Plan Performance Snapshot Chief Pooler did not speak to anything included in this report and the Commissioners had no additional questions. The report was placed on file. F. POLICE AND FIRE COMMISSION 24. PFC Financial Report This report was placed on file. City of West Allis Page 7 Printed on 9/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2024 G. CLOSED SESSION PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners of the City of West Allis will, upon conclusion of open session, consider and vote on a motion to convene into closed session at said time and place to review and discuss the discipline of a Police Officer. A closed session for the above purpose is authorized pursuant to the provision of Section 19.85(1)(b)(f) of the Wis. Stats., to consider dismissal, demotion, licensing or discipline of any public employee or person licensed by a board or commission or the investigation of charges against such persons, and to consider financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons, preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigations of charges against specific persons except where par.(b) applies which, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such histories or data, or involved in such problems or investigations. Immediately upon completion of the closed session, the Board of Police and Fire Commission will reconvene in open session at said time and place to consider any other matters on the agenda. On a motion made and seconded, the meeting convened into closed session at 7:53 pm On a motion made and seconded, the meeting reconvened into open session at 8:06 pm H. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, on a motion made and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 8:07 pm City of West Allis Page 8 Printed on 9/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2024 All meetings of the Police and Fire Commission are public meetings. In order for the general public to make comments at the committee meetings, the individual(s) must be scheduled (as an appearance) with the chair of the committee or the appropriate staff contact; otherwise, the meeting of the committee is a working session for the committee itself, and discussion by those in attendance is limited to committee members, the mayor, other alderpersons, staff and others that may be a party to the matter being discussed. NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT The City of West Allis does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, age, marital or veterans' status, sex, national origin, disability or any other legally protected status in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs or activities. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT NOTICE Upon reasonable notice the City will furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services when necessary to afford individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in and to enjoy the benefits of a service, program or activity provided by the City. LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STATEMENT It is the policy of the City of West Allis to provide language access services to populations of persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) who are eligible to be served or likely to be directly affected by our programs. Such services will be focused on providing meaningful access to our programs, services and/or benefits. City of West Allis Page 9 Printed on 9/20/2024