Police Commission Minutes 07/07/04

The Rochester Police Commission held their regular monthly meeting on July 7, 2004. Present at this meeting was Chairman Dumont, Comm. Flanagan, Comm. Stenhouse, Chief Dubois, Capt. Donlon, Lt. Dumas, Lt. Taylor, Lt. Gould, Lt. Callaghan, Attorney Grossman, Secretary Warburton, members of the Department, the public and the media.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to accept the minutes of the June 2, 2004 meeting as written and the minutes, as amended, of the April 7, 2004 meeting. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.

A. Building Committee Updates. We assumed operations in the new building on June 29, 2004. There are still some aesthetic things that are being finished up, such as the front stairs, sidewalks, paving, etc., as well as some minor things inside that are still being completed. Chief Dubois, responding to the question advised that an open house is being worked on with staff assistance. We want to finish all these minor things and hope to have the official open house in August.

Comm. Flanagan stated that he’s heard many comments that the building was expensive and there’s no doubt, it was, but the dollar was well spent. He encouraged all citizens and any others with interest to attend the open house. This is a good thing that has happened in Rochester. It should take care of the City for the next thirty years or more and everyone should be proud.

B. Grand Jury Update Capt. Donlon said we’ve been monitoring this for a couple of months. The review started with 74 cases and has been reduced to 15 cases, which should be cleared within a couple of months. He suggested removing this from monthly follow up. The grand jury file is an ongoing, day to day operation that fluctuates. Chairman Dumont said that if it gets to be that high again, we can talk about it.

C. Reverse 911 Chairman Dumont suggested removing this from the agenda, as we know what direction we are going in. Chief Dubois replied we would pursue this project whether it’s listed on the agenda or not. We reviewed a potential grant opportunity today that may allow us to proceed.

A. Oaths of Office: New Officers. Commissioner Barry Flanagan administered the oath for patrol officer to new officers David LoConte, Theresa Lustwerk and Joshua Ouellette. Family and friends were on hand to assist with the pinning of badges.

B. Accept Notice of Retirement: Det. W. John Caldwell. For health reasons, Det. Caldwell submitted his intent to retire. Chairman Dumont stated, “I’m going to miss that guy. He had twenty-three years of service and I wish him well in his retirement.” Those statements were echoed by Commissioner’s Flanagan and Stenhouse that John was an asset to the City of Rochester and his commitment would be missed.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to accept the notice of retirement of Det. W. John Caldwell, with regret, which was SECONDED by Comm. Stenhouse and unanimously PASSED.

C. Education Incentive; Joshua Ouellette: Review and Award. Lt. Callaghan advised that Officer Ouellette holds a BA in Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice from the UNH and therefore qualifies for the education incentive.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to award the educational incentive for a Bachelor’s Degree to Officer Joshua Ouellette. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.

D. Authorize Fundraising; “Hair Because We Care” Chief Dubois stated that members of the Union have asked that we continue with this program in FY05. They sent a letter directly to the Chairman, authored by Sgt. Deluca, and cosigned by 23 members.

From a fund raising standpoint, the program went well. It gave a boost to morale and it didn’t detract from the professional services we offered. As you can see by the list, it does not have 100% support within the Department.

They have asked for my support and I haven’t given it 100% either due to some problems we had with the program last year. Some participants took the beard too far in my opinion. I had some concerns reported to me from members of the public that the beards were not professional and that they detracted from their image.

I have some reservations but nothing that I can’t live with. It was done without a lot of stipulations last year and I’d like to clarify that a bit better. I’d like to have the ability to come down harder on infractions and to be clear on the length and style of facial hair allowed. I would not support full beards again. I would also like to increase the amount of the donation. Last year it was a minimum of $100.00. The Local proposes that all the donations go to the St. Charles Children’s Home. I’d like to allow officers the discretion to give to their chosen charity in the City, as opposed to all the resources going to just one charity.

Comm. Stenhouse asked how long the program was last year? Chief Dubois stated it was for the full fiscal year, and they are asking for that again. Comm. Stenhouse felt that was excessive. Chief Dubois responded “you are not alone.”

Chairman Dumont said that we gave a significant amount of money to Gerry’s Food Pantry last year and the proposal this year is for the Children’s Home. Both are worthwhile causes. I would like to see a police commander and a member of the Union to be involved and “police it” themselves. If it gets out of hand, it can be addressed.

Chief Dubois said that there’s a part of me that says I don’t want to do it again and have it get out of control. My father, who's opinion I value is a retired police officer, thinks it looks terrible. Then there’s a part of me that says it’s for a good cause.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to support the fund raiser “facial hair, because we care” for six months. SECOND BY Comm. Stenhouse. Open for discussion.

Chief Dubois asked if the increase in funds was supported and if the funds should go to one charity, or to the charity of the member’s choice? It was felt that a sum of $125.00 was acceptable and that members should have a choice for donating their funds.

The MOTION to support the officers fund raiser “facial hair because we care,” for six months, participation requires officers to raise $125.00 for the local charity of their choice, subject to the rules and regulations as established by the Chief of Police and at his discretion, PASSED unanimously.

E. Cost of Living Adjustments and Merit Increases, Non Union Personnel. Chief Dubois stated the Cost of Living Adjustment and the merit increases were included in the budget this year for non-union personnel. He would ask that the Commission approve the same for the sworn non-union personnel at the police Department.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED that as provided for the FY05 budget, that the cost of living adjustments and merit increases for non union personnel also be provided to the non-union sworn members of the police department. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.

F. Updated Job Description; Animal Control. This is an updated job description based on research completed by Police Standards and Training that identifies our animal control officer as a civilian, serving violation complaints only. She has no badge or other insignia that would identify her as a police officer. To do more than that may require attending the academy and receiving certification as a police officer.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to accept and adopt the updated job description for Animal Control. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.

1. SOP 117; Use of Physical Fitness Facility, NEW, First Reading. Lt. Dumas advised that this is a straightforward Operating Procedure that outlines the requirements for use of the new fitness room. It is voluntary, and members are required to sign a waiver. This is almost verbatim the policy we got from PRIMEX, our Worker’s Compensation carrier.

Comm. Stenhouse requested that we have PRIMEX do an inspection of the fitness facility. He noted for the record that he is a director of PRIMEX, he has no financial interest in the company, but he is an employee.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to waive the second reading and adopt SOP 117, with the understanding that PRIMEX will come and inspect the facility. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.

1. Patrol Bureau Lt. Callaghan presented this report in the absence of Capt. Allen. He advised that the Downtown CORE Group held a “Midnight Madness” event on June 14, which was well received. We investigated a shooting incident in East Rochester on June 15. Our downtown comp stat project is going well and Lt. Gould has added domestic violence to her comp stat project. We are analyzing motor vehicle accidents and trying to place officers at specified areas based on the time and location of such accidents. We’ve been using both the bicycle patrol and the motorcycles, weather permitting. Both are fuel-efficient and have the ability for rapid response to congested areas.

2. Support Bureau Capt. Donlon reported that communications logged 4409 calls for the month. We still have our part time specialist in training. He should be ready to go solo soon.

The investigations’ bureau made an arrest in the East Rochester shooting. They handled two sexual assault investigations. Our drug officer assisted the DEA on two occasions this month. The D.V. unit reviewed and completed follow up where needed on 18 cases. The juvenile division had 11 arraignments. Evidence took in 204 new items and purged 288 items.

Our HUD officer is working with Rochester Housing on speed bump proposals. He worked with the PTO on a summer safety program, and also chaperoned a Portland Sea dog’s baseball game.

Our K9 officer has left to accept employment with the State of New Hampshire, Division of Motor Vehicles. We are interviewing candidates for a replacement.

Officer's Keevan and Murphy graduated from the Police Academy on June 25, 2004. Officer Keevan received the physical fitness award for graduating first in his class in physical fitness.

In MIS, the transfer of the computers from the old station to the new station went virtually smoothly. A personal thank you is extended to Debbie Lessard, Dennis Duchesneau, Dennis Shafer and Jayne Young, who dedicated several days and nights of planning to make that happen.

1. Vacancies. Comm. Flanagan commented that he can appreciate the State of NH going after good police officers and hiring them. He is, however, sad that they keep picking Rochester. They take the best and we are losing a lot of good experience. We should thank our staff for doing such a good job in training. We certainly can’t fault these individuals for bettering themselves with regard to wages and benefits.

Chief Dubois responded that our officers are highly marketable. They are trained in certain fields, to include tactical team, TAR, and K9. This is a moving profession and good officers can go where they want. We also recruit from other agencies whenever we can. It’s part of the business. We are hearing in exit interviews that officers are happy with the City and Department, but are leaving for wage and benefit packages.

2. Public Hearing to Abolish the Commission. Chairman Dumont stated that in another political maneuver by the Mayor Walker, the people will be asked again on the September 14th primary ballot if they want to abolish the Police Commission. He said, “I ask the Department staff to act, like always, as professionals and let the people decide in September. We have a good group and we should remain that way.”

A. Appreciation and Recognition. Letters sent on behalf of or recognizing Department members this month include: Off. Balint is recognized for investigation of criminal mischief at the East Rochester Annex School.

A. Financial Reports - June 2004. Comm. Stenhouse asked that the Chief look into some numbers on the financial reports. It appears that we are $58,000 over in overtime, and $22,000 under expended in dispatch. Those numbers are preliminary, and assuming they are correct, that’s a concern. Chief Dubois stated that our projections showed us in the black by several thousand dollars. There could be several reasons why, such as outside detail reimbursements, or even the retirement pay outs we had. We will meet with the finance office and get a firm answer for all.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to enter a non-public session at 7:42 P.M. for the purpose of personnel and legal matters. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse. The motion PASSED by roll call vote, Comm. Stenhouse-yes, Comm. Flanagan-yes, Chairman Dumont -yes. The non-public session closed at 8:06 P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. Flanagan. SECOND by Comm. Stenhouse and PASSED unanimously.

Comm. Stenhouse MOVED that based on a passing evaluation the Compensation Adjustment as outlined in the command contract is granted to Capt. Douglas Donlon. SECOND by Comm. Flanagan and PASSED unanimously.