Chambana Sun

City of Urbana METCAD Policy Board met Feb. 2.

Here is the minutes as provided by the Board:

MEMBERS MPB: Chief Jeff Christensen, University of Illinois Public Safety Chief Anthony Cobb, City of Champaign Police Department Chief Paul Cundiff, Rural Fire Chief’s Association Mike DeLorenzo, University of Illinois Jeff Fiegenschuh, Village of Rantoul Chief Brian Nightlinger, City of Urbana Fire Department Mayor Laurel Prussing, City of Urbana Chief Rick Raney, Rural Police Chief's Association Rick Snider, Champaign County Joan Walls, City of Champaign Sheriff Dan Walsh, Champaign County Sheriff's Office (proxy Deputy Chief Jones) Lieutenant Jeff Wooten, Village of Rantoul Police Department

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: Ralph Caldwell, Director Greg Abbott, Deputy Director Karen Clevenger, Supervisor Betsy Smith, Supervisor Kristin Wright, Administrative Assistant

ABSENT:

OTHERS: Kathryn Cataldo, City of Champaign Legal Department Chief Pat Connolly, City of Urbana Police Department Randy Dhom, METCAD Communication Specialist Brad Hardcastle, METCAD Telecommunicator Deputy Chief Derrick Odle, City of Urbana Fire Department

Chair Jeff Fiegenschuh called the meeting to order at 8:31 a.m. Roll call was taken. Chair Fiegenschuh asked if there was any audience participation and there was none. Chair Fiegenschuh asked for motion to approve the minutes. Chief Rick Raney made the motion to approve the January 5, 2017 METCAD Policy Board minutes; Ms. Joan Walls seconded the motion. Motion carries.

Chair Fiegenschuh asked Director Ralph Caldwell if there were any electronic communications. Director Caldwell reported that a proxy had been received from the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office as noted in the attendance list.

Chair Fiegenschuh called Resolution 17-01 – Approving the Purchase and Installation of Security Cameras at the METCAD Facility. Director Caldwell asked Mr. Greg Abbott to review the purchase. Mr. Abbott reported that the contract is with Current Technologies, Inc. which is the same vendor that the University of Illinois uses for their security cameras. This purchase had been deferred a couple of years because staff was unsure if the partnership with the University of Illinois would be approved and if the University’s servers were going to be used. The pricing had already been negotiated by the University and METCAD was able to use their pricing structure. This contract replaces all of the security cameras at the METCAD facility. Mr. Abbott thanked Officer Tim Hetrick with the University of Illinois for his help on the project. Chief Brian Nightlinger asked if the cameras would be able to connect to the University’s cameras during a command post and Mr. Abbott responded that we would be able to connect both ways. Chair Fiegenschuh asked for a motion to approve Resolution 17-01. Chief Cundiff made the motion and Chief Christensen seconded the motion. Roll call was taken and it passed unanimously.

Chair Fiegenschuh proceeded to discussions items. The first item was a legislative update. Director Caldwell reported that the report to the General Assembly from the Advisory Board is due March 1. He mentioned that Mayor Prussing had attended the last Advisory Board meeting to discuss her resolution for additional funding. Director Caldwell stated that the exact amount needed for the surcharge is a moving target because it is unknown how much the statewide network will cost. It costs the State of Indiana $15 million to support their statewide network every year. The consultant is working on the cost for Illinois. Director Caldwell mentioned that the State had promised METCAD about $400,000 in additional revenue and we received $176,000. He would like the surcharge raised enough to cover that loss at least. The Telcos are discussing dropping support of landlines completely. This would also decrease the surcharge amount. There are a lot of unknowns at this point and the State Police is hesitant to raise surcharge until those answers are received. The State Police is estimating that the increase would need to be between 4 and 6 cents to make up the shortfall from what was originally estimated for METCAD to receive. Mayor Prussing stated that she had met with 5 legislators and they are now fully aware of the problem and that Representative Chad Hayes is very interested in helping with the problem. Director Caldwell mentioned that the next meeting is scheduled for February 23 and the Board is supposed to discuss the report that will be sent to the General Assembly.

Director Caldwell provided a review of the proposed FY 17/18 METCAD budget. He reported that he was able to meet with each of the administrators to review the personnel changes. He reviewed the Report to the Board. He reviewed the gain that METCAD received from the State paying the network costs. He also reviewed the information that he received from Sangamon County and Peoria County regarding staffing at their dispatch centers. METCAD is understaffed compared to both of these centers not only in supervisors but also in telecommunicators. Deputy Chief Jones asked why Director Caldwell had chosen those two counties. Director Caldwell stated that they are the closest in size to Champaign County and handle the approximately same amount of calls as METCAD does. Chair Fiegenschuh stated that he was supportive of the additional staffing included in the proposed budget and that he would not support a budget that didn’t include the additional staffing. The approval of the budget was delayed at the request of the County due to the Sheriff being out of the country. Director Caldwell mentioned that the fund structure has changed with the City of Champaign because they are switching to a new financial software and the account numbers had been updated. Director Caldwell also reviewed the METCAD service plan for FY 17/18. He discussed the upcoming CAD upgrade that was deferred to next year due to the unknown installation plan from the CAD vendor. He reviewed each of the funds. There wasn’t any further discussion regarding the budget.

Director Caldwell mentioned that there was a request at the last Board meeting for copies of the new job descriptions. The Human Resources Department are still working on revising the job descriptions. The Operations Manager position had to be recreated. Mayor Prussing asked what Indiana’s surcharge amount is and Director Caldwell stated that they are currently at $1.00 per line but they are planning to ask for more. They can raise it up to five cents without getting approval from the legislature.

Director Caldwell asked Mr. Abbott to provide a radio project update. Mr. Abbott reported that the equipment has been replaced and staff is on schedule for the next phase of the cutover which is scheduled for about midnight on February 7. There are some weather concerns at the moment but staff will continue to monitor it and will have a conference call on Monday with Motorola to determine if it will continue as scheduled. This should be the last piece that the users will notice.

Director Caldwell asked Ms. Clevenger to provide a personnel update. As of January 9, there are 28 telelcommunicators. There will be two more hired in March. In Director comments, Director Caldwell introduced the new City attorney who was assigned to METCAD after Joe Hooker retired. Her name is Kathryn Cataldo. Chair Fiegenschuh asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mayor Prussing made the motion; Lieutenant Wooten seconded the motion. Motion carries and the meeting adjourned at 9:16 a.m.