MINUTES
BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY
April 1, 2015
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Public Safety was held in the City Hall Auditorium on Wednesday, April 1, 2015.
Those in attendance included Mayor Elinor Carbone, Corporation Counsel Raymond Rigat, Commissioners Darlene Battle, Glenn McLeod, Richard Zaharek and Robert Conforti, along with Fire Chief Gary Brunoli, Deputy Fire Chief Christopher Pepler, Police Chief Michael Maniago, Deputy Chief Christopher Smedick and Traffic Officer Steven Pisarski. Also present were Volunteer Fire Chiefs Bickford, Maccalous and Holmes, and Campion Ambulance Director of Operations Fred Rosa. Commissioners Douglas Benedetto and Angelo LaMonica were absent.
Mayor Carbone called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. starting with the Fire Department oaths and pinning of Captain Kevin Engle, Lieutenant Michael Brown, Lieutenant Robert Shopey III, and Fire Marshal Edward Bascetta.
MINUTES
On a motion by Commissioner McLeod, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the Regular meeting held March 4, 2015.
OPEN TO PUBLIC
On a motion by Commissioner Conforti, seconded by Commissioner Battle, the Board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. Mr. Gino Reginatto of Riverside Ave. pointed out the sidewalk maintenance problems in his neighborhood. Mayor Carbone agreed that the enforcement of the snow removal ordinance remains a challenge for the City. Mr. Reginatto further addressed the issue of vehicles exceeding the speed limit on City streets. He recommended the speed limit be increased on Riverside Ave. Mayor Carbone invited him to meet with her and discuss his concerns.
ADD TO AGENDA
On a motion by Commissioner Conforti, seconded by Commissioner Battle, the Board voted unanimously to add Section B to the agenda.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
On a motion by Commissioner McLeod, seconded by Commissioner Conforti, the Board voted unanimously to enter Executive Session under Police Dept. Personnel at 5:58 p.m., inviting Chief Maniago, Deputy Chief Smedick, and Atty. Rigat.
OPEN SESSION
On a motion by Commissioner Conforti, seconded by Commissioner McLeod, the Board voted unanimously to enter Open Session at 7:00 p.m.
PROMOTION: Police Dept.
On an amended motion by Commissioner Battle, seconded as amended by Commissioner McLeod, the Board voted unanimously to promote Kenneth Brouillard to the position of Sergeant, with an effective date at the discretion of the Chief.
FIRE DEPT. UNIFORMS
On a motion by Commissioner McLeod, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Purchasing Agent’s, Fire Chief’s and Deputy Fire Chief’s recommendation to purchase Class A Fire Dept. Uniforms from the low bidder, New England Uniform, LLC of Danbury, CT for the estimated amount of $5,000, pending City Council approval on 4/6/2015.
REPORTS
On a motion by Commissioner McLeod, seconded by Commissioner Conforti, the Board voted unanimously to accept Police Chief Maniago’s Report for February 2015.
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Battle, the Board voted unanimously to accept Officer Pisarski's Traffic Operations Unit Report for February 2015.
On a motion by Commissioner McLeod, seconded by Commissioner Conforti, the Board voted unanimously to accept Fire Chief Brunoli's Report for February 2015. Commissioner McLeod commended the Chief for the reduction in overtime.
On a motion by Commissioner Battle, seconded by Commissioner Conforti, the Board voted unanimously to accept Deputy Fire Chief Pepler's Report for February 2015.
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Conforti, the Board voted unanimously to accept Training Officer Tripp's Report for February 2015.
On a motion by Commissioner Conforti, seconded by Commissioner McLeod, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Emergency Management Report for February 2015.
On a motion by Commissioner Conforti, seconded by Commissioner Battle, the Board voted unanimously to accept Fire Marshal Bascetta’s Report for February 2015.
On a motion by Commissioner McLeod, seconded by Commissioner Battle, the Board voted unanimously to accept the EMS Provider Activity Report for February 2015.
BUSINESS: VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS
On a motion by Commissioner Conforti, seconded by Commissioner Battle, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by Volunteer Fire Departments. Chief Maccalous reported that two firefighters are attending Firefighter One right now, and they will have more Black Helmets by June. Chief Holmes reported that Burrville is operational again, having answered 90 calls last year. He asked what the justification is for level funding in the proposed budget. Mayor Carbone replied that the decision was made by the budget committee, and they determined that Chief Brunoli should determine how the stipends are distributed. She said no decision was made by the Board of Public Safety on this, and pointed out that our Grand List is down 19% making budget decisions difficult this year.
BUSINESS: DEPT. HEADS
On a motion by Commissioner McLeod, seconded by Commissioner Conforti, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by Department Heads.
Chief Maniago said two recruits graduated from Police Academy, and one more will graduate in the next few weeks. He recognized the Detective, Patrol and Support Services Divisions as well as the SRT Team for working together seamlessly, performing an outstanding job and going above and beyond at the TD Bank Robbery and the events at 497 Highland Avenue.
Chief Brunoli agreed with Chief Maniago and also thanked the Public Works Department. He commended everyone involved. Chief Brunoli reported that the new Ladder Truck is in service and training is still being conducted on it. He said the Torrington Lions Club will donate CPR training equipment.
Deputy Chief Pepler reported that he attended Staff and Command School last week and has new insight into the need to be proactive in light of the recent, horrific fire in NYC. He said the fire service needs to do a better job trying to protect citizens before the fire happens, and trying to prevent incidents.
Director Rosa offered his thanks to everyone involved in the recent incidents.
BUSINESS: MAYOR & MEMBERS
On a motion by Commissioner Conforti, seconded by Commissioner Battle, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by the Mayor and members of the Board of Public Safety.
Commissioner Zaharek congratulated Sgt. Brouillard and commended everyone for an outstanding job during the two critical incidents.
Commissioner Conforti congratulated Sgt. Brouillard and commended the Police Dept. for their response to the TD Bank robbery. He thanked everyone involved in the fire on Highland Ave. and thanked Chief Brunoli for reducing the overtime.
Commissioner McLeod congratulated the newly promoted and the newly pinned. He thanked the Chiefs for the smooth budget process. Commissioner McLeod asked the Chiefs to forward their public policies for the Board’s constructive review. He said the Board is not violating Weingarten rights because the staff is very professional and highly-trained, and he wouldn’t know how to evaluate them. He wondered when the policy was written, and if it was in a time when everybody knew each other. He said he thought the intent of the policy may have been to keep politics out of some of it, and said in today’s world it would be called ‘networking.’ Commissioner McLeod noted that there are many employees who are not from Torrington that the Board doesn’t even know. Commissioner McLeod suggested this
matter be addressed in future contracts, so that the Board can at least meet with the individuals who are eligible for promotion. He said the Board and Department Heads need to work together and said that he doesn’t want to tell anybody how to do their job. He said he is looking for information on who he may talk to who, when and why.
Commissioner Battle congratulated Sgt. Brouillard and the newly pinned. She thanked the Chiefs and their Departments for their work at the bank robbery and fire incident.
Mayor Carbone stated that on behalf of the City we are tremendously grateful for the work that our Police and Fire Departments have performed, particularly the bank robbery and Highland Avenue incident. She said she is tremendously proud to hear that their heroic efforts continue to serve this community through fundraising efforts for the families.
PRESENTATION:
Chief Pepler explained the overtime cost drivers that are governed by contractual language in collective bargaining agreements and noted that there is a cost involved for having safe staffing in their Department. He assured the Board that they are trying to be as conscientious as possible while providing a high level of service to the citizens.
Chief Pepler said the goal of their Small Vehicle Deployment is to reduce the wear and tear on larger apparatus and keep resources available to be spread out for true emergencies within the 40 square miles of the City.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Commissioner McLeod, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 7:40 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC
CITY CLERK
Carol L. Anderson, CMC
Assistant City Clerk
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