PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
July 3, 2019 Members Present: D. Healy, W. Dibble, D. Decker, S. Havey, J. Hopkins (Absent: B. Harris)
Others Present: G. Barnes, A. Bigelow, P. Curran, M. Evans, D. Fanton, K. Francisco, K. Graves, G. Green, R. Hall, G. James, B. Kelley, C. Knapp, J. Luckey, D. McDonnell, K. Morsman, B. Perkins, J. Ricci, B. Riehle, T. Ross, R. Starks, P. Stockin, R. Swarthout, M. Washer
Media Present: C. Potter, The Spectator
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Public Safety Committee Chairman Dwight "Mike" Healy.
Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Legislator Havey, seconded by Legislator Hopkins, and carried to approve the Public Safety Committee minutes for June 5, 2019.
PUBLIC DEFENDER
Public Defender Barbara Kelley attended the meeting and submitted her monthly report to the committee for review.
Indigent Legal Services
Ms. Kelley stated that she recently attended a meeting in Buffalo with the other 8th Judicial Chief Defenders as well as Indigent Legal Services. There was good information on more money that is being allotted to counties to help comply with the Hurrell-Harring settlements.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT & FIRE
Emergency Management & Fire Director Jeff Luckey attended the meeting and submitted his monthly report to the committee for review. Mr. Luckey briefly highlighted events and meetings he attended in the month of June.
Homeland Security Conference
Mr. Luckey stated while at the Homeland Security Conference he was able to attend the New Mexico hot air balloon accident where a hot air balloon contacted high voltage wires and seven people perished. Mr. Luckey walked away with several safety lessons and is working with the Wellsville, NY, Balloon Rally Committee on new regulations that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) came out with after that accident. Mr. Luckey noted they have created an Incident Action Plan (IAP) that has been submitted to the FAA.
Fire Advisory Board Additional Funding
Mr. Luckey stated he has received correspondence from the Fire Advisory Board requesting additional funding for the Wellsville Fire Department Training Center. Currently Mr. Luckey has been supporting the training center by donating $1,000 a year out of his budget. They also receive $500 from another organization; however, $1,500 is not enough to cover their expenses. Mr. Luckey noted that the facility is getting older, they are required to maintain a fire tower, and also have a classroom available to the County with no fee. Mr. Luckey went on to say that the Fire Advisory Board met, and they are asking for additional $3,000 annually. Mr. Luckey has included that amount in his 2020 Budget for discussion, and he hopes they can continue to support that training center as it’s a worthwhile and essential program. STOP- DWI
STOP-DWI Coordinator Brian Perkins attended the meeting and submitted his monthly report to the committee for review. Mr. Perkins briefly highlighted events he attended in the month of June.
Amy Stock Trailer
Mr. Perkins stated that he is working to get the Amy Stock trailer back next year in the month of July with hopes to use it during Fair week.
Needs in the County
Legislator Dibble asked Mr. Perkins to elaborate on a comment in his monthly report regarding making more connections for other needs in the County. Mr. Perkins stated he would like to have a collaboration of School Resource Officers and other individuals to discuss what is and isn’t working for them. These are new positions within our schools, and there is currently no group that gets together to make sure things are progressing in the right direction.
Car Shows
Legislator Hopkins asked if Mr. Perkins plans to attend other car shows in the future. Mr. Perkins stated he hopes to as they come up. They haven’t been on his radar; however, the idea came up to appear at the Andover Grease, Gears, and Grooves Car Show, and his information was well received. Legislator Hopkins stated she would like to see a tally of how many people Mr. Perkins encounters at these events as well as how many packets are given out. Mr. Perkins stated that is something he can begin doing in the future as he attends events. Legislator Decker stated that Rushford Labor Day has a big car show with over 60 classic cars and recommended Mr. Perkins try to attend that one as it draws a big crowd. Legislator Havey noted that the Tourism website does list all of these events as well.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
District Attorney Keith Slep was unable to attend the meeting but submitted his monthly report to the committee for review.
PROBATION DEPARTMENT
Probation Director Robert Starks attended the meeting and submitted his monthly report to the committee for review. Mr. Starks stated that supervision numbers are up compared to last year at this time.
Office Highlights
Mr. Starks stated that Probation Supervisor Scott Grantier attended the Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association Conference in Washington, D.C., where he presented on the Department’s New Probationer Orientation Program. Thirty people sat in on the seminar, and Mr. Starks noted that it’s nice to get our County’s name and information out there. Annual Fundraiser
Mr. Starks stated Probation’s annual fundraiser will be held on Saturday, August 10, in Angelica. They will be participating in a 5K run/walk to support ACCORD’s Domestic Violence Program.
School Resource Officer
Committee Chairman Healy asked if the Youth Court could incorporate a better line of communications with our School Resource Officers. Mr. Starks stated it has not been discussed; however, he will be sure to bring it up in September at the next meeting. Mr. Starks noted that they did host a lunch for the School Resource Officers when they began, and they could certainly get a couple of their agencies together again to meet with them.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Weights and Measures Director Gilbert Green attended the meeting and submitted his monthly report to the committee for review. Legislator Decker congratulated Mr. Green on being re-elected Secretary for the 10th year to the State Weights & Measures Association.
SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Lieutenant Andy Bigelow attended the meeting and submitted the Sheriff Office’s monthly reports to the committee for review. Legislator Hopkins referred to the Civil Division report and asked what Income Executions are. Lt. Bigelow stated they are essentially garnishing of wages.
911 Report
Legislator Decker asked if the 911 police report total of 3,349 were calls coming in. Lt. Bigelow stated, yes, they are phone calls requesting that NYS Police respond, and they cover a lot more ground. Committee Chairman Healy stated he didn’t believe that was their only line of communication either. Lt. Bigelow stated, yes, they also have calls come into their own office.
Request to Abolish Part-Time Junior Accountant Position
Lt. Bigelow requested permission to abolish the part-time Junior Accountant position in the Sheriff’s Office. They have not received any acceptable applications and would like to create a full-time Senior Account Clerk Typist position in hopes of getting a better response. This request was approved on a motion made by Legislator Decker, seconded by Legislator Havey, and carried. Prepare Resolution
Request to Create and Fill Senior Account Clerk Typist Position
Lt. Bigelow requested permission to create and fill one full-time (35 hour/week) Senior Account Clerk Typist (AFSCME, Grade 10, Step: Base – Step 7). This position will assist the full-time Accountant with their workload and help to reduce the current Accountant’s overtime hours. The salary for the remainder of 2019 is estimated between $12,615 and $15,178 with benefits estimated between $5,392 and $6,488. This position is funded 100 percent with County funds. Legislator Hopkins asked if there is a difference in responsibilities between a Junior Accountant and Senior Account Clerk Typist. County Treasurer Terri Ross stated a Junior Accountant is required to have more accounting experience. County Administrator Debbie McDonnell stated that she met with the Sheriff as well as their senior staff to go over the Accountant position. Currently, the Accountant is doing things that a Senior Account Clerk Typist could be doing; therefore, creating this full-time Senior Account Clerk Typist position will not only provide better coverage, it will also help alleviate the Accountant from handling those non-accounting functions so they can focus more on the money. Ms. McDonnell continued that the full-time salary will be at the lower rate of $32,812, and she believes this a great strategy and hopes the committee supports it. Legislator Graves stated that he finds it difficult to accept that we’re going to hire two people to do one job. County Treasurer Ross reminded the committee that when the Sheriff first came to the Board and requested the Junior Accountant position, it was for succession planning purposes as the Accountant had announced his upcoming retirement. The title already existed and included the appropriate accounting requirements that would allow them to train and replace the retiree. Since then, the test results came through, and there weren’t a lot of choices in addition to there being very little interest in working part-time. Ms. Ross continued that she has come to the Board several times saying the Accountant position in the Sheriff’s Office needed support staff because it was drawing a lot of overtime, and putting a full-time position out there will get people to apply. Ms. Ross went on to say that should all ends meet together; it will be a great help to the Sheriff’s Office and reduce that overtime they are currently seeing. This request was approved on a motion made by Legislator Havey, seconded by Legislator Hopkins, and carried. Refer to Personnel to create the position and refer to Ways and Means to fill
Request to Change Accountant’s Hours
Lt. Bigelow requested approval to change the Accountant’s (PEF, Grade 7, Step: Base – Step 11) work week from 40 to 35 hours per week to match other Accountants in the County. This transition would better suit the needs of the Sheriff’s Office as they also intend on hiring a full-time Senior Account Clerk Typist who will also work 35 hours per week to provide consistent accounting services to the Sheriff’s Office. This change also allows the Sheriff’s Office to fall in line with the County’s new standard work hours. The annual salary for this position’s new hours is estimated between $43,611 and $60,369 with benefits estimated $18,644 and $25,807. This position continues to be funded 100 percent with County dollars. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office is requesting permission to fill the Accountant position at 35 hours per week. Administrator McDonnell stated that is important that all of our Accountant positions be the same hours per week because we have a lot of great internal applicants who may want to apply; however, might not find a 40-hour work week appealing. Legislator Hopkins stated that while she understands the need for consistency, she is concerned that lowering this to 35 hours per week will just create more overtime for the current Accountant. Legislator Stockin stated before he became a Legislator, he always heard about the extreme overtime in the Sheriff’s Accounting Office, so his first question as well is whether or not this will create more overtime, or if the two positions together will reduce it. Ms. Ross stated the goal is to reduce overtime, and in the end they should see that happen. Right now the current Accountant has no support staff and with a big department that is 24/7/365, they need two people in there. Legislator Graves stated he trusts our Treasurer and her judgement, but not having comparisons in front of him, this specific situation should not be treated as an experiment. Legislator Graves continued that the system is broken, and whatever their plan is to correct it, there needs to be better documentation so they don’t end up having two people working overtime. Administrator McDonnell stated that if the Board is in agreement with the concept of the change, she would ask they support the requests and move them on to Ways & Means where the additional data that Legislator Graves is requesting can be presented. This request was approved on a motion made by Legislator Dibble, seconded by Legislator Decker, and carried. Refer to Personnel and Ways & Means
Radio/Tower Project Update
Radio Technician Matt Evans stated there are no new updates; however, they are one step closer to getting power to the Alfred tower. 911 Enumeration Update
911 Dispatcher Russ Hall stated they are making progress; however, it is slower than usual due to construction season. This past month they were able to change the database format to input out of County addresses into ours which allows the Dispatchers to plot and validate addresses just outside the County. Legislator Barnes asked if we have homeless people in the County that cannot be tied to an address. Mr. Hall stated anecdotally he does, but officially he cannot confirm. Legislator Decker asked what the deadline is to have this project completed. Mr. Hall indicated they don’t have a deadline, adding it’s very difficult to set one, but he hopes to have it completed in 2 ½ years.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:18 p.m. following a motion by Legislator Decker, seconded by Legislator Dibble, and carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Meghan Washer, Confidential Secretary to the Clerk of the Board
Allegany County Board of Legislators
