Everest Metro Police Joint Finance Committee

Meeting Minutes of Joint Meeting of the Everest Metropolitan Police Department Joint Finance Committee and the Everest Metro Municipal Court Finance Committee, dated 06/03/2020 Present: Wally Sparks – President; Village of Weston Mark Maloney – Trustee; Village of Weston Denny Richmond – Alderman; City of Schofield Kregg Hoehn – Mayor; City of Schofield Milt Olson – Chairman; Town of Weston Clay Schulz- EMPD Police Chief Shane Heilmann – EMPD Operations Captain Nick Aldrich – EMPD Administrative Captain Becca Schreiber– EMPD Administrative Assistant Jessica Trautman – Finance Director; Village of Weston Kari Carroll – Alderman; City of Schofield Krisztina Dommer – Auditor Jenna Trittin – Deputy Finance Director; Village of Weston Absent: Yee Lee Xiong – Trustee; Village of Weston I. CALL TO ORDER A. President Sparks opened the meeting at 1600 hrs. Roll call. B. Approval of minutes of meeting held, October 24th, 2019. *M/S/P Maloney/Olson II. NEW BUSINESS – EMMC A. III. NEW BUSINESS – EMPD A. Krisztina Dommer from KerberRose discussed the 2019 audit results. She said that with the Covid pandemic, the audit was done completely remotely and commended the Village of Weston on their hard work and efficiency. She discussed the ‘Opinions’ portion of the audit that indicated the audit for 2019 was sufficient and presented fairly. She stated that she was comfortable with where the fund balance was, in conjunction with any post-pandemic issues that may arise from Covid-19. EMPD had an increase in fund balance of around $77,000. She did not have any concerns. Sparks questioned the uncollateralized cash balance at the end of the year and asked Jess about their thoughts. Jess responded that they are looking into insurance options or a possible LGIP account. This is to be discussed at a later date. A motion was made to approve the 2019 audit as presented. *M/S/P Maloney/Richmond B. Budget update – Chief Schulz discussed the EMPD budget vs actual and pointed out some key points. In 2019, there were gaps in personnel, where there had been open positions not being filled immediately. This was the main reason for the budget being underspent this past year. Chief Schulz also discussed the restricted fund balance and his attempt to avoid using this as a savings account and instead using some of these funds for expenses. C. Discussion on possible approval to modify the funeral leave clause in the current contract – Chief Schulz provided a copy of a Letter of Agreement to modify Article 13 – Funeral Leave of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement retroactive to  January 1, 2020. A motion was made to approve the modified Article 13 – Funeral Leave clause as presented. *M/S/P Richmond/Carroll D. Discussion and possible approval of DRAGON dictation software – Chief Schulz provided a copy of the cost of the 27 Dragon Law Enforcement (DLE) Licenses and discussed options for covering those costs. Chief Schulz proposed utilizing the excess funds in Capital Equipment – All Other and Capital Equipment – Computer Software that was not used in 2019 to cover these costs, which will be split out over a 5 year payment plan. A motion was made to approve the Dragon dictation software. *M/S/P Maloney/Olson IV. CHIEF’S REPORT – A. Department updates – Chief Schulz discussed the focus of Captain Aldrich being towards Grant writing, including the trainings for Grant writing that he attended. In 2019, EMPD received 4 grants, each totalling $4,000. Chief Schulz advised that these grants and the funds from the restricted fund balance would be utilized to offset the costs of large ticket items, such as tasers, firearms and portable radios, to avoid capital loans. The schools generously continued to pay the SRO’s through the end of the school year. Ford stopped production so new squads are unavailable at this time. There are now 4 clerical staff, with the addition of Ashley Marschall and Becca Schreiber. Chief discussed 2 new officers that will be joining EMPD in the near future. Bids are going out for the upgrades and renovation for the locker room and evidence room. Sparks mentioned the 50% cut in healthcare and Jessica confirmed that May and June health insurance premiums were cut in half, saving EMPD roughly $28,000 in healthcare costs. Chief Schulz discussed the possibility of body cams, but we are still researching costs. Jessica discussed the Municipal Court spending below their $7,000 budget the past couple of years. The Village of Weston is tracking this. V. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS: A. Sparks and Hoehn thanked EMPD for their work through Covid and commended Chief Schulz in the 2019 budget results. VI. DATE FOR NEXT MEETING: TBD VII. ADJOURN: Meeting was adjourned 17:06 hrs. *M/S/P Hoehn/Richmond