Police and Fire Commission

City of West Allis Meeting Minutes Police and Fire Commission Thursday, November 21, 2024 6:00 PM West Allis Police Department 11301 W. Lincoln Ave. REGULAR MEETING AND CLOSED SESSION A. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Manthei called the meeting to order at 6:04 pm B. ROLL CALL Present: Commissioners Mark Manthei, Danielle Romain, Michelle Sutinen, Kimberly Cosby and Sagar Tolani Also present: Assistant Chief Jason Schaak, Deputy Chief Armando Suarez Del Real - Fire Department; Police Chief Pat Mitchell, Deputy Chief Bob Fletcher - Police Department; Mayor Dan Devine, CAO Rebecca Grill - City of West Allis; Recording Secretary, Bridget Morawetz C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the October 17, 2024 Regular and Closed Session Meeting Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Romain and seconded by Commissioner Sutinen to approve the minutes 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 12/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes November 21, 2024 D. FIRE DEPARTMENT 1. Request for approval: Begin promotional process for Captain A motion was made by Commissioner Tolani and seconded by Commissioner Romain to approve this request as presented by AC Schaak. The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Sutinen, Cosby and Tolani Nay: 0 2. Request for approval: Begin hiring process for a civilian employee for grant funded position AC Schaak stated that this grant funded position has been approved to be funded thru October 2028 and that in the past, this position has been filled by a represented staff member. He noted that given the special qualifications for the position and the short-term employment timeframe, hiring a qualified, civilian employee made more sense. Commissioner Tolani asked if the union had been notified about this decision and are on board, to which AC Schaak stated that a conversation was had the union and members understand the reasoning. A motion was made by Commissioner Sutinen and seconded by Commissioner Tolani to approve this request as presented. The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Sutinen, Cosby and Tolani Nay: 0 3. Request for purchase approval: Two staff vehicles AC Schaak presented purchase approval requests for two staff vehicles. He stated that the capital improvement committee approved the purchase of a Ford F150 electric pick-up truck and the other request was Chevrolet Tahoe SSV to be purchased using the Wisconsin Flex grant money. Commissioner Tolani asked AC Schaak about the charging stations available to handle another electric truck and AC Schaak indicated that fire admin had a charging station installed and will be sufficient to handle two electric vehicles. Commissioner Sutinen made a motion to table the purchase of the Ford F150 until January of 2025 and approve the purchase of the Chevrolet Tahoe, which would be funded out of awarded grant money. A motion was made by Commissioner Tolani and seconded by Commissioner Cosby to approve the purchase of the Chevrolet Tahoe and table the purchase of the Ford F150 until the January 2025 meeting. City of West Allis Page 2 Printed on 12/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes November 21, 2024 The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Sutinen, Cosby and Tolani Nay: 0 4. Operations Division Report AC Schaak reviewed the fire incident included in this report that happened at the Unit Drop Forge located on South 62nd St. He stated that the fire was located on the second-floor industrial area and the incident was brought under control within seven minutes. AC Schaak also discussed the mutual aide tables as well as briefly reviewed some of the benchmarks included in this report. The Commissioners had no additional questions or comments and the report was placed on file. 5. Bureau of Training and EMS Report AC Schaak reviewed the highlighted calls that were included with this report. He also stated that department members had the opportunity to engage in hazardous material and confined space training with Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD). He stated that MFD is the State’s regional hazardous response department and they have a good policy in place for standards of practice. The Commissioners had no additional questions or comments and the report was placed on file. 6. QPR Performance Report AC Schaak stated that dispatch received a good compliance report for the month of October. The Commissioners had no additional questions or comments and the report was placed on file. 7. Community Risk Reduction/Support Services Division Report AC Schaak stated that the Indiana University School of Public Health has started push notifications through the PulsePoint program to promote the use of Narcan and CPR. He stated that this is relative to a MOU approved by the Commissioners at their July 18, 2024 PFC meeting. AC Schaak also reviewed some of the important benchmarks included in this report. The Commissioners had no additional questions or comments and the report was placed on file. 8. Bureau of Fire Prevention and Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Report AC Schaak thanked Lt. Steve Prusinski for his dedicated work relative to the 2024 Fire Prevention week events. He stated that Lt. Prusinski and department City of West Allis Page 3 Printed on 12/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes November 21, 2024 members visited 12 schools and provided important public safety information to all attendees. The Commissioners had no additional questions or comments and the report was placed on file. 9. Fire Department Financial Report AC Schaak did not speak to anything contained in this report. 10. Master Plan Performance Snapshot AC Schaak did not speak to anything contained in this report. 11. Communication: Resignation of Fire Chief AC Schaak shared the resignation letter of Fire Chief Mason Pooler. He stated that Chief Pooler’s last day with the city will be on Sunday, January 5, 2025. City of West Allis Page 4 Printed on 12/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes November 21, 2024 E. POLICE DEPARTMENT 12. Discussion and selection: Police Officer interview dates the week of January 20, 2025 Commissioner Manthei requested that the recording secretary send out a doodle poll to all Commissioners regarding their availability the week of January 20, 2025 for police officer candidate interviews. 13. Communication: National Computer Forensics Institute Training (NCFI) Chief Mitchell stated that Detective Sargent Wayne Treep was selected by the Secret Service to attend two classes at the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI). He stated that acceptance into the programs conducted at the NCFI is challenging and it took almost four years for Det. Sgt Treep to be accepted to attend his selected programs. Chief Mitchell briefly spoke about the programs and the benefit of Det. Sgt Treep’s attendance for the department. The Commissioners had no additional questions or comments and the report was placed on file. 14. Request for purchase approval: Matrice 30T Drone and Accessories Chief Mitchell requested approval to purchase a Matrice 30T drone with accessories. Chief Mitchell stated that the cost will not exceed $16000 and if approved, will be purchased through the Federal Equitable Sharing funds account. A motion was made by Commissioner Tolani and seconded by Commissioner Sutinen to approve this purchase as presented. The motion carried by the following votes: Aye: 5, Commissioners Manthei, Romain, Sutinen, Cosby and Tolani Nay: 0 15. Police Department Finance Report Chief Mitchell did not speak to anything contained in this report. 16. Monthly Performance Report Chief Mitchell stated that the department continues its initiative on community engagement and over the past year have increased officer park and walks by 9%. He stated that this type of community engagement is beneficial for both residents and police officers. Chief Mitchell stated that the department participated in a threat tabletop exercise presented by Critical Response Group (CRG). He noted that the exercise was specific to an active threat in a school environment and was conducted at the WAWM Rec Department. The Commissioners had no additional questions or comments and the report was placed on file. City of West Allis Page 5 Printed on 12/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes November 21, 2024 17. Training Bureau Report Chief Mitchell stated that the CSO program will lose one officer as CSO Ocampo Orozco will begin his police officer career in November with the department. He noted that three newly hired CSO’s will also start in November. Chief Mitchell stated that the goal is to have eight CSO’s and that another CSO hiring process has been initiated to help achieve that goal. The Commissioners had no additional questions or concerns and the report was placed on file. 18. Patrol Bureau Report Chief Mitchell did not speak to anything included in this report and it was placed on file. 19. Criminal Investigations Bureau Report Chief Mitchell did not speak to anything included in this report and it was placed on file. 20. Community Service Bureau Report Chief Mitchell stated that the school liaisons continue to work with habitually truant students and their parents in an effort to resolve this issue and get the student(s) attending school on a regular basis. The Commissioners had no additional questions or comments and the report was placed on file. 21. Communications Bureau Report Chief Mitchell stated that the dispatch center recently hired three individuals and they are scheduled to begin their training in November. He noted that the dispatch center has one full time position open and it is expected to be filled by a current part-time dispatcher once the person has been fully trained. The Commissioners had no additional questions or comments and the report was placed on file. 22. Tavern Violation Report Chief Mitchell did not speak to anything contained in this report and it was placed on file. City of West Allis Page 6 Printed on 12/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes November 21, 2024 F. POLICE AND FIRE COMMISSION 23. PFC Financial Report The report was reviewed and placed on file. 24. Discussion: Determine the criteria for appointing an Interim Fire Chief CAO Grill stated that fire department policy outlines the appointment of an Interim Fire Chief. She stated that the PFC Board can ultimately decide to go in a different direction, but the standard protocol would be to appoint the Assistant Chief of Operations and if that is not an option, the Assistant Chief of Community Risk Reduction would be considered. The Commissioners agreed to revisit this decision at the December meeting. 25. Discussion: Creation of a Fire Chief Recruitment and Selection Process Sub-Committee CAO Grill requested that this agenda item and any discussion be tabled until further notice as the city would like to revisit other options before moving forward with a Fire Chief recruitment process. The Commissioners agreed to this request as presented by CAO Grill. 26. Closed Session: Discussion regarding complaint investigation For agenda item #26, the Police and Fire Commission may convene in closed session pursuant to the provisions of Wis. Stat. Section 19.85(1)(g) for the purpose of conferring with legal counsel for the governmental body who is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved. The Police and Fire Commission may reconvene in open session after completion of the closed session to consider the balance of the agenda. On a motion made and seconded, the meeting convened into closed session at 7:03 pm. On a motion made and seconded, the meeting reconvened into open session at 7:30 pm G. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, on a motion made and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm City of West Allis Page 7 Printed on 12/20/2024 Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes November 21, 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 8 Printed on 12/20/2024