City of Belleville Police & Fire Committee met March 14.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
Committee Chair Alderman Johnnie Anthony called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Committee Members Present:
Johnnie Anthony
Scott Ferguson
Brian Whitaker
Shelley Schaefer
Carmen Duco
Dennis Weygandt
Department Head/Staff:
Fire Chief Penet
Excused:
Mary Stiehl
Roger Wigginton
Police Chief Clay
Others in attendance:
Alderman Raffi Ovian
Michael Hagberg
Minutes:
Alderman Whitaker motioned to accept the minutes of the February 14, 2022, meeting as presented second by Alderwoman Schaefer. Vote by Roll Call: Anthony, Ferguson, Whitaker, Schaefer, Duco, Weygandt – Aye. Motion passed.
Public Comments:
None.
Staff Report:
Fire Department: Chief Penet
Lift Assist procedures with the department were discussed. Alderwoman Schaefer asked if the calls are initiated from a citizen or the ambulance company. Chief Penet stated most of the calls are initiated by the ambulance company. He continued by stating that the Coroner’s Office has the same procedure. Alderwoman Schaefer asked if the ambulance companies were making a profit on a lift assist call, Chief Penet said yes, they bill the citizen.
Chief Penet continued with explaining HB 5313 which allows a Fire Department to charge for a Lift Assist if it occurs at a nursing facility. The charge is determined by FEMA rate. Alderman Whitaker suggested that the City insert a fee schedule into the current contracts with the two ambulance companies who currently serve the City of Belleville.
After further discussion, Chief Penet was asked to contact City Attorney Garrett Hoerner to look into the possibility of charging the ambulance company directly for Lift Assist calls. Chief Penet will report back to the committee at the April 11th meeting.
Budget Submissions were discussed. Alderman Whitaker asked for an explanation of the increase in the Equipment line item 01-53-83000 from $25,000 last year to $70,000 this year. Chief Penet explained that one of the airbags that are used to assist in lifting heavy objects during an extrication had failed at the Amazon Building after the tornado last year. Upon further investigation, it was found that several of the airbags needed to be replaced to prevent further failures. The increase will also cover five new radio replacements. Alderman Whitaker then asked Chief Penet to explain the increase from $25,732 to $65,000 in the Other Professional Service line item 01-53-54900. The Fire Department currently uses a program called Firehouse software to tract all incident reports and commercial buildings within the City of Belleville. This program is being discontinued. The new records management system will increase to $13,000. The current fire inspection software will be $12,500 for the year and Vector Solutions will be implemented to track the continuing education, truck checks and State Reporting at a cost of $26,000.
Chief Penet concluded by stating the Fire Department budget had only increased by 3.1%.
New Business:
None.
Old Business:
None.
Adjournment:
Alderwoman Schaefer motioned to adjourn the meeting at 6:33 p.m. second by Alderman Ferguson. Vote by Roll Call: Whitaker, Weygandt, Schaefer, Duco, Anthony, Ferguson – Aye. Motion passed.
https://www.belleville.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_03142022-2719
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