East Windsor Police Commission
Regular Meeting August 8, 2007
Minutes
CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE
The meeting was called to order at 7:05p.m. by Chairman Sherman. Commissioners Barton, Devanney, Knibloe and Sinsigallo were present along with Chief DeMarco and Capt. Hart.
ADDED AGENDA ITEMS
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to add the following item to the Agenda:
Under Traffic Authority
a) Cross-Walk – South Water Street
Under New Business
b) K-9 car
c) SRO
d) Amended Ordinance – revolving police fund
Sinisgallo/Devanney Unanimous
PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES
Regular Meeting – July 11, 2007
The minutes of the regular meeting of July 11, 2007 were reviewed by all commissioners present. A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to accept the minutes of the July 11, 2007 meeting as presented.
Sinsigallo/Devanney Barton – Aye
Devanney – Aye
Sinsigallo – Aye
Knibloe - Abstain due to absence from meeting
Motion was carried.
BUDGET AND EXPENDITURES
A) Police Department - Monthly Billing
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to approve the East Windsor Police Department monthly billing dated July 13, 2007 in the amount of $1553.65 for the fiscal year 2006/2007 (final report for this fiscal year).
Sinsigallo/Devanney Unanimous
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to approve the East Windsor Police Department monthly billing dated August 2, 2007 in the amount of $4211.34 for the fiscal year 2007/2008
Sinsigallo/Devanney Unanimous
B) Police Department Financial Statement
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner
Devanney to approve the East Windsor Police Department Financial Statement dated July 13, 2007 for the fiscal year 2006/2007. (final report for this fiscal year)
Sinsigallo/Devanney Unanimous
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to approve the East Windsor Police Department monthly billing dated August 2, 2007 for the fiscal year 2007/2008.
Sinisgallo/Devanney Unanimous
C) Police Commission - Monthly Billing
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo seconded by Commissioner Devanney to approve the East Windsor Police Commission Monthly Billing for the fiscal year 2007/2008 dated July 31, 2007 in the amount of $101074
Sinsigallo/Devanney Unanimous
D) Police Commission Financial Statement
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to approve the East Windsor Police Commission Financial Statement for the fiscal year 2007/2008 dated July 31, 2007 as presented
Sinsigallo/Devanney Unanimous
E) Animal Control Monthly Billing
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to approve the East Windsor Animal Control Monthly billing dated August 2, 2007 in the amount of
$579.65 for the fiscal year 2007/2008.
Sinsigallo/Devanney Unanimous
F) Animal Control - Financial Statement
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner
Devanney to approve the East Windsor Animal Control Financial Statement for the fiscal year 2006/2007 dated July 13, 2007 as presented. (final report for this fiscal year)
Sinsigallo/Devanney Unanimous
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to approve the East Windsor Animal Control Financial Statement for the fiscal year 2007/2008 dated August 3, 2007 as presented.
Sinisgallo/Devanney Unanimous
G) Legal Billing
There was no Legal Billing this month.
PUBLIC INPUT
Warren Wentz, 118 Thrall Road, Broad Brook, CT took this opportunity to address the police commission regarding police presence in Broad Brook. He had a suggestion to make such as using an I-Pod for a sub-station thus bringing a police presence to this side of town.
Mr. Wentz was thanked for his concern, but in the discussion that followed between Mr. Wentz, the Board of Police Commissioners, the Chief of Police and the Captain – it was explained to Mr. Wentz that although all concerned agreed that there should be more police presence in the Broad Brook Section of East Windsor and that a sub-station would be helpful in this regard; the budget approved by the Board of Finance and the voters of the Town of East Windsor for the fiscal year 2007/2008 does not allow for this action at this time.
The other concern that Mr. Wentz had was the construction on Route 140 and the fact that he was fearful that if the police or ambulance was needed on this side of town, there would be no way for them to get through the traffic jam created by this construction. Chief DeMarco assured Mr. Wentz that they are in constant radio contact with the officers at the construction site and when an emergency vehicle needs to make it through, the officers are notified and these vehicles are able to move through the traffic jam with no problem.
It was a suggestion to Mr. Wentz by all interested parties that he start a “grass roots” campaign to get the Board of Finance to relax the strictures on the Police Department budget so that the issues of additional police presence in Broad Brook and the possibility of another sub-station could be addressed financially.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was no Unfinished Business
TRAFFIC AUTHORITY
07-0002 – North Main Street
This complaint was once again discussed by the Chief, the Captain and the Commissioners present. The East Windsor Police Department has put the radar board in the vicinity of Mr. Kosky’s residence and it verifies that there is no undo speeding on this stretch of road. One of the difficulties is that Mr. Kosky lives on Rt. 5 close to the Enfield line and the speed limit at the Enfield town line is 45 mph. and the fact that his home is built so close to the road, the trucks going by seem to be going by at an extreme rate of speed. The Chief and Captain did note that they would be willing to talk to the Enfield Police Department to see if there might be a possibility of installing a warning sign just before the East Windsor Town Line
warning drivers that there is a speed limit reduction t0 35 mph once they cross over the East Windsor town line.
As this complaint has been investigated by the East Windsor Police Department and Mr. Kosky has been met with by the police department, a motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Knibloe to close this traffic complaint.
Sinsigallo/Knibloe Unanimous
07-0003 – South Water Street
A letter has been received by the Commission members from the Chief of Police regarding a request made to him by Deputy First Selectman Ken Crouch concerning the installation of a cross-walk on South Water Street that would allow pedestrians to cross safely from Osborne Field to the Town Community Park.
There was some discussion regarding this matter among the Chief and the Commission members present and the Chief stated that he needed additional time to investigate this matter thoroughly.
A motion was made by Commissioner Knibloe, seconded by Commissioner Sinsigallo to table this matter until a further meeting.
Knibloe/Sinsigallo Unanimous
PUBLIC INPUT #2 (Comments only - no discussion)
There was no Public Input
NEW BUSINESS
A) Monthly Communications
Chairman Sherman brought up for discussion the Monthly Communications forwarded from the Chief to the Board of Police Commissioners. He asked the Commissioners as a whole if there was enough of information in the monthly communications and if there was anything that they would like differently – in particular the payroll sheets and the explanation of time used and over-time which can be found on the last page.
Commissioner Barton responded to this by saying that 2 or 3 months ago it was decided that there needed to be more communication between the Chief and the Commission members, particularly in the area of over-time. He went on further to say that the report presented to the Commission members regarding the time expended on all three shifts, including over-time was concise and easy to understand. He further stated that the reason he had requested this type of report was because of the nonsense from the Board of Finance over their investigation of certain records from the Police Department. “During this investigation by the Board of Finance, certain facts were uncovered which caught me (Commissioner Barton) unawares and I was embarrassed”. Some of the facts uncovered, at that time, showed that over-time had been paid to an officer who had had the day off and that some shifts were staffed with more people than was being shown and that there was over-time being expended
which was unnecessary. This is the kind of information that I feel, we as a commission should be made privy to in the monthly communications.
There was additional conversation regarding the monthly communications with the Chief saying in closing that he would strive to do his best to keep the lines of communication open, with emphasis on those areas discussed at this meeting.
B) K-9 Car
Officer Petlik, the K-9 officer, will be leaving his position with the East Windsor Police Department effective August 13, 2007. The car that was assigned to this officer will be transferred to the other K-9 officer and the remaining K-9 car (which is an extremely high mileage vehicle) will be retired from the fleet.
A motion was made by Commissioner Knibloe, seconded by Commissioner Sinsigallo to retire car #55 (the K-9 car).
Knibloe/Sinsigallo Barton – Aye
Knibloe – Aye
Sinsigallo – Aye
Devanney – Nay
The motion was carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Knibloe, seconded by Commissioner Sinsigallo that upon his resignation from the East Windsor Police Department the K-9 be offered to Officer Petlik for the sum of $1.00 to be used as his personal property,
Knibloe/Sinsigallo Unanimous
A motion was made by Commissioner Barton, seconded by Commissioner Sinsigallo to reduce the canine force from two (2) to one(1).
Barton/Sinsigallo Barton – Aye
Knibloe- Aye
Sinsigallo – Aye
Devanney – Nay
The motion was carried.
C) SRO
The Chief reported to the Board of Commissioners that due to the budget cuts imposed on the Police Department by the Board of Finance, there was no money in this year’s budget for the SRO; and he therefore proposed that the SRO program be suspended.
A motion was made by Commissioner Barton, seconded by Commissioner Knibloe that upon the recommendation of the Chief of Police that the SRO program be suspended.
Barton/Knibloe Unanimous
After additional discussion regarding the SRO Program, an amendment to the above motion was made by Commissioner Barton, seconded by Commissioner Knibloe that the SRO program be suspended until monies become available.
Barton/Knibloe Barton – Aye
Knibloe – Aye
Sinsigallo – Aye
Devanney – Nay
The motion was carried.
D) Amended Ordinance – Revolving Police Fund
Commissioner Knibloe presented to the Commissioners present, the Chief and the Captain an “Ordinance Amending Ordinance Entitled Ordinance Creating a Special Revolving Fund for the East Windsor Police Department Special Duty Police Work”. Ordinance 78-2
Be it ordained, pursuant to the provisions of Section 7-148 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a special Revolving Fund is created for the East Windsor Police Department for Special Duty Police Work.
The purpose of said fund is to pay police officers who perform private duty police work, and to receive funds from those persons or companies who pay for the private duty police work. The account will be operated on a revolving basis and the initial funds shall be placed into the fund as directed by the East Windsor Police Commission. All funds received from billing of private duty police work shall be deposited directly to said account.
The account shall be designated as the East Windsor Police Department Special Duty Account, and shall maintain no less than Forty-Thousand dollars ($40,000) to maintain coverage. At the end of the fiscal year the surplus funds over and above the forty thousand dollar ($40,000) base shall be distributed as follows, twenty-five percent (25%) shall be returned to the General Fund. The remaining seventy-five percent (75%) shall be made available to be used by the East Windsor Police Department by the direction of the East Windsor Police Commission. Otherwise this account shall be under the direction and control of the Treasurer of the Town of East Windsor”.
There was a general discussion regarding the above ordinance, and the following changes were agreed upon by all members of the Board of Police Commissioners present. Change the last sentence of this Ordinance to read:
Otherwise this account shall be administered by the Treasurers Office and the Office of the Chief of Police for the purpose of payroll related to special duty work.
A motion was made by Commissioner Devanney, seconded by Commissioner Sinsigallo that the corrected Ordinance be forwarded to the Board of Selectman.
Devanney/Sinsigallo Unanimous
EXECUTIVE SESSION
A) Labor Negotiations
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to go into Executive Session at 8:22 pm. To include the Chief, the Captain and First Selectman
Sinsigallo/Devanney Unanimous
A motion was made by Commissioner Sinsigallo, seconded by Commissioner Devanney to come out of Executive Session at 8:46 p.m.
Sinsigallo/Devanney Unanimous
NO ACTION TAKEN
COMMUNICATIONS
There were no communications
MONTHLY REPORTS
A) Chief of Police
There was nothing additional from the Chief.
B) Commission Members
Commissioner Barton took this opportunity to bring up for discussion among the Commissioner present, the Chief and the Captain the issue of uniforms. Commissioner Barton feels that our officers look sloppy in the uniforms that they are currently using (BDU’s) and that he would like to see all officers in Class B uniforms. Commissioner Knibloe agreed with this assessment of the uniforms.
The Chief responded to this statement by saying that a study group was being conducted regarding this issue and that it would take approximately 2 years for all officers to change over to the Class B uniforms, but if the Board of Police Commissioners wanted the change, he would make sure that it was done.
A motion was made by Commissioner Knibloe, seconded by Commissioner Sinsigallo that in no longer than two years all officers of the East Windsor Police Department will be back in Class B working uniforms, with the exception of special duty (i.e. construction), canine duty or any other duty that would prohibit the wearing of Class B uniforms.
Knibloe/Sinsigallo Unanimous
First Selectman Edward Filipone also took this opportunity to mention that he had taken one of the police cars home over the weekend and that he was appalled at the condition of the inside of the car. He was wondering if the inside of the car was so disgusting, what type of driving this officer was doing. Mr. Filipone also said that if he was offered a ride in a cruiser he would refuse due to the condition of the inside. Chief DeMarco told Mr. Filipone that he knew exactly which vehicle he was talking about and that he was taking steps to correct the situation.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Commissioner Knibloe, seconded by Commissioner Sinisgallo to adjourn the regular meeting of the East Windsor Police Commission at 9:10 p.m.
Knibloe/Sinsigallo Unanimous
Respectfully submitted,
Darlene H. Kelly
Recording Secretary
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