North Cook News

Village of Buffalo Grove Board of Fire and Police Commissioners met Nov. 4.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER and ROLL CALL:

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairman Dibbern in the Trustee Conference Room of Village Hall. Commissioner Johnson called the roll and noted for the record that a quorum was present at the meeting. Present were Commissioners Fishman, Johnson and Dibbern. Commissioner Hartman was not present. Also, in attendance were Police Chief Casstevens, Fire Chief Baker, Deputy Fire Chief Wagner, HR Director Malinowski, Management Analyst Golbach, Management Analyst Grace, and Trustee Liaisons Stein and Smith.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

A. Commissioner Fishman made a motion to approve the minutes of the BFPC Regular Meeting of October 7, 2019, seconded by Commissioner Johnson. Commission Johnson noted a change to the minutes from “Minutes of the Regular Rescheduled Meeting” to “Minutes of the Regular Meeting.” Commissioners Fishman, Johnson and Dibbern voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:

A. Chairman Dibbern congratulated Police Chief Casstevens on being elected to President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

B. Chairman Dibbern congratulated Fire Chief Baker on attaining the professional re-designation of Chief Fire Officer (CFO) from the Center for Public Safety Excellence’s Commission on Professional Credentialing. Chief Baker is one of 1,391 CFOs worldwide and one of only 58 CFOs in Illinois.

C. Chairman Dibbern thanked Commissioner Johnson for attending Police Chief Casstevens’ swearing-in ceremony on behalf of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.

D. Chairman Dibbern advised that she has received several questions from FF/PM applicants via email. Once applicant inquired about the vendor we use for the psychological exams.

COMMISSIONER’S REPORTS:

A. Commissioner Johnson congratulated Police Chief Casstevens on being elected to the President of IACP and said it was an honor and privilege to attend this event.

B. Commissioner Johnson congratulated Fire Chief Baker on his re-accreditation of CFO.

C. Commissioner Johnson advised that Police Officer Matt Mills is presenting on Active Threat Preparedness at the Buffalo Grove Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce Membership Lunch meeting on November 5, 2019 at Lou Malnati’s

TRUSTEE REPORTS: None

CHIEF REPORTS:

POLICE DEPARTMENT:

A. Chief Casstevens acknowledged that he could not serve in the capacity of President of IACP without the support and capable leadership of Deputy Police Chiefs Szos and Eisenmenger. He also shared that normally, the incoming President is featured on the cover of IACP’s magazine. Police Chief Casstevens asked if he could include his Deputy Police Chiefs on the cover as well. His request was accepted and the three chiefs are featured on the cover of the magazine.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

A. Chief Baker reported that Dustin Baniqued has accepted the offer for the FF/PM position and will be sworn in on Monday, November 11, 2019 at 8:15 a.m. at the Fire Station on Deerfield Parkway. His official badge presentation will take place on December 2, 20919 at the Village Board Meeting.

B. Chief Baker advised that the employee that he reported on during last meeting is still out on medical leave and will return for light-duty work by the end of the month.

C. Chief Baker reported that 83 candidates applied for the FF/PM orientation and testing. He noted that applications are down from the last testing cycle. Chief Baker also mentioned that Lake Forest had 48 applicants. Commissioner Fishman asked why the decline in applicants. Chief Baker opined that when the economy is doing well, the interest in the position is down.

QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None 

SPECIAL BUSINESS: None

OLD BUSINESS:

A. Chairman Dibbern advised that we still need to finalize the 2020 meeting schedule since there are three open dates to be determined, due to the holidays in July and September.

B. Chairman Dibbern reported that there were 100 applicants for the FF/PM position when she checked the system before the meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:

A. Chairman Dibbern advised that Chief Baker wants to change vendors for the Fire Fighter Physical Test from Omega to AMITA. Commissioner Fishman made a motion to direct the Fire Chief and staff liaison to set up preplacement fire fighter physical testing with AMITA, seconded by Commissioner Johnson. Commissioners Fishman, Johnson and Dibbern voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed.

B. Chairman Dibbern distributed the minutes from the recent closed meetings to satisfy the six- month review of said minutes. Commissioner Fishman made a motion to approve the minutes of the closed meetings, seconded by Commissioner Johnson. Commissioners Fishman, Johnson, and Dibbern voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed.

C. Police Chief Casstevens shared that his team has reviewed the language of the lateral police entry and made a few changes. Since the revised document was not distributed to the Commissioners prior to the meeting, it was agreed to defer approving the revised document until the December meeting. To reiterate the changes in this process, the Police Chief Casstevens advised that the requirements remain the same. We would simply schedule interviews of potential candidates before our regularly scheduled meetings. Additionally, with the changes, we will never have to restart the lateral entry police process. This will eliminate the gaps in terms of qualified candidates on the lateral entry list we have experienced in the past. Commissioner Fishman asked if a candidate not having Illinois Academy experience will preclude them from being a part of the process. Police Chief Casstevens advised that this will not preclude applicants from other states from the process, but they must meet the standards from the Illinois Standards Board.

D. HR Director Malinowski shared the polygraph results for Candidate #5 – Dawid Wojs for the Commissioners to review and discuss in closed session.

E. Discussions on personnel will be conducted in Executive Session.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

A. A motion was made at 6:30 p.m. by Commissioner Fishman, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to move to Executive Session to discuss Section 2(C)(1) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act: the Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Discipline, Performance, or Dismissal of Specific Employees of the Public Body or Legal Counsel for the Public Body, Including Hearing Testimony on a Complaint Lodged Against an Employee of the Public Body or Against Legal Counsel for the Public Body to Determine its Validity. Commissioners Fishman, Johnson, and Dibbern voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed.

B. The Commission moved to Executive Session from 6:30 p.m. to 6:49 p.m.

RETURN TO OPEN SESSION:

The open session resumed at 6:49 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT:

A motion was made by Commissioner Fishman, seconded by Commissioner Johnson to adjourn the meeting at 6:54 p.m. All commissioners present voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed.

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