No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Special Meeting_05/08/1990 VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA Post Office Box 3273 • 357 Tequesta Drive Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 • (407) 575-6200 FAX: (407) 575-6203 V I L L A G E O F T E Q U E S T A S F E C I A L V I L L A G E C O U N C I L M E E T I N G M I N U T E S P U B L I C S A F E T Y D I R E C T O R I N T E R V I E W S M A Y 8 1 9 9 0 I. The Tequesta Village Council held. a. regularly special meeting at the Village Hall, 351 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Tuesday, May 8, 1990. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 A.M. by Village Manager Thomas G. Bradford. A roll call was taken by the Recording Secretary. Councilmembers present were: Mayor Joseph N. Capretta, Vice-Mayor R,on T. Macka.il, William E. Burckart, Earl L. Collings, and Edward Howell. Vil]_age Officials present were: Thomas G. Bradford, Village Manager. • II. QUESTIONS OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL AND VILLAGE MANAGER BRADFORD TO PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR CANDIDATE, LEONARD IiELLER: LEONARD P. KELLER 118 Aspen Drive Franklin, Pennsylvania 16323 HOWELL: Tell us about yourself and why you a.re interested in this job? TiELLF.R: I am a native Buckeye, born in Ohio, raised on a farm approximately halfway between Akron and Cleveland. 1'~Iy family farmed until it became economically unfeasible. I graduated from high school in 1966, later went on to college, where I achieved a Bachelors Degree. I spent two years in the Army during the Viet Nam. war. Upon return from that., I held two positions: 1) Deputy Sheriff with the Sheriff's Department, and 2} teaching at a local. high school. I then decided to enter law enforcement on a full-- time basis. I spent the time from graduation until entering the U.S. Army as a firefighter with the l.oca.l township on a. volunteer basis. I was fortunate to be one of the first people to be able to combine law enforcement. with firefighting at the same time, in an area where Public Safety was pretty much unheard. of at that time. I worked. my way up through the Sheriff's Department. from Dispatcher, Jailer, Patrol Deputy, Detective, and later to • Lieutenant. In 1978 I was appointed as the first Chief of Police in Hinckley, Ohio. Village Council Special. Meeting ?Minutes May 8, 1990 • Page 2 ----------------------- The purpose was to build their first full.-service la.w enforcement agency. They had been under contract to the Sheriff's Department for patrol services. They wanted a full-time, full.-service agency. In 1982, I received. an appointment. as Chief of Police in VanBuren Township in suburban Detroit, with a population of approximately 20,000, and 36 square miles. This was the position of Transition Chief for the purpose of completely rebuilding and. restructuring a la.w enforcement agency with some diversi.fi.cation as a Public Safety concept. In 1986, as a result of a consultant's present position in Franklin, PA., as a of Public Safety, with the purpose of Police Department, and 14 firefighters, operation t.o a Public Safety operation. approximately 8500 people in four square m study, I was placed in my first, full-t,ime Director taking an existing 17-man and converting the entire The City of Frankl_i_n has i_les. My position there has been a.n intrigui.ng cha.l]_enge, in that we have been able to accomplish, in slightly less than three years, a. • complete transition from a traditional. law enforcement function and traditional fire suppression function to a combined, consolidated Department of Public Safety. I am a graduate of the FBI National Academy. I am also a graduate of Northwestern tJniversity Traffic Institute School of Police Staff and Command, and I have 15 hot.ars towards my Masters Degree, which I someday hope to complete. I am married, with three children living at home. The year-round good weather here in Florida is one intriguing aspect of the job opportunity. I see the opportunity being offered by Tequesta as an opportunity to utilize my talents as a Transition Chief. I see i.t as a career path move, an opporti_ani.ty that not. only enhances myself, but that of my family as well. Also, the area. that we are i.n presently in Pennsylvania is an economically st;agnant area. It provides me no opportunity for growth. Franklin, at the present time, is deciini.ng i_n population and economi.call y is very weak. The city is strugg]_ing. The Public Safety Depa.r•t.ment is in place - it is functional.. We have accomplished the goals that. I was hired to do, and. I am looking for a career path move. I spent twelve years as a Transition Chief; that's a, specialty. That's what I do, and do very well. The opportunity the Village of Tequesta presents i.s an extreme challenge, utilizing the skills I have accomplished. the last four • years in my present position, as ~~el.]. as the background that I have. Village Council. Special Meeting ;`linutes May 8, 1990 Page 3 ----------------------- COLLItiGS: We have an area on the ocean called Coral Cove Park, where the traditional celebration of the 4th of July will. t.alie place. there will be a number of thousands of people there with little access. Can you conjecture on what. type of crowd-emergency problems might. arise? FELLER: I drove through that, axea as T caas t.ry-ing to familiarize myself with your community. Obviously, you would have some traffice floc~~ problems, congestion problems. T could. foresee parking problems, as t.o where you would put the overflow of vehicles i_n that area. Probably egress and access of emergenc;.~ vehicles, should. t.hc~~: b~ needed, shoczld be given priority. Containment c>f the pe;~ple °: a safety zone, with fireworks nearby, might ?,e a problem. 1 fairly easy f l oc~ of traffic i n and c_,ut w;;c:l d regczi re some pre-planning , making a pc;ir;t: of ~ spE~cia1 opera`i<~nal procedure, which can rc>gn~i_re. coordin,atic~n of police-., fire and medical resoczrces, as cell as any other agencies. ^ly cznderstandi.ng is that access to that would be the Town of Jupiter with the t.op part going into Martin C'ocznt.y - therefore, it. would require coordination with Martin Cozant.y- and Jupiter. Probably the best. way of doing that would be • t.o utilize the existing staff, ut.iliz,e the existing agencies, and do some pre-planning to set z.zp into a special operation procedure. COLLINGS: What is the main difference, i_n your mind, between separate Fire and Police operations compared t.o a combined operation? FiELLER: I believe there are a number of things which are different: 1? Police operations and fire operations, in the past, have been very- traditional, very "t.urfish". Firefighters believe their domain i.s specifically fire srappression. The past. 20 years have seen a lot of changes in fire services, caused strictly from fire, medical, rescue, hazardous materials, fire safety education, and fire prevention. Fire is much more diversified and technical now than it. was 20-25 years ago. 2) I.aw enforcement has a tendency to be very traditional also, and very resistant. t.o change. Public Safety is not. a new concept on it,s face itself, but. it is a new concept when brought into an area which has been accustomed to a tradit.i_ona.l. police and fire department. Change creates trauma. People have a tendency to be very comfortable with the st.at,zas quo cait.h the way things are. When those change, there is a. tendency to disrupt l_ifest.yles. Sometimes the fear of change, whether it be Village Council Special Meeting Minutes May 8, 1994 Page 4 ----------------------- actual or perceived, gets people ~-ery upset. To some extent, ,you have to look at the socio-economic background of the community, ho~y it is structured, and how Public Safety will fit in. You cannot take a community which has an exceptionally high demand for police and fire servic-yes and combine them. into one agency and expect them to be successful.. The study that was prepared for you by Leonard Matarese, pertaining to Tequesta, is probably fairly accurate when it, says Public Safety is more successful in areas where there is not traditionally a high demand for police or fire services. Tequesta apparently- does not have a high demand.. It takes a special. breed of cat to perform the functions. Law enforcement, t.radit.ionally, can be stressful, can be a high impact situation. Fire suppression is done by firefighters less than 1% of their actual on-duty time. Being a. career firefighter can create some trauma i_n itself. A firefighter must be trained. and equipped for fighting fires, and be able t,o want to do it. I a.m a firm beli.eve.r in aggressive interior attack on a fire. This requires a. person who is trained to do that.. Not everyone is cut, out to do that.. For the concept that. Tequesta is pursuing, you are looking at some consolidation of services and job descriptions for people who need. to he cross-trained. You need to look into your existing operation to determine how much it. has t.o be modified, what additions a.re necessary, if any officials are required, and what will be done with the existing men. COLLINGS: In combined operations regarding unions, do you feel there are different concerns facing fire, or can one union handle both. fire and police? IiELLER: That may vary from one jurisdiction to another. I've seen Puhli.c Safety operations which have fire operations unionized on one side and l.aw enforcement on the other, because they each obviously have their own specific concerns. Probably one of the greatest fears I have seen from the firefighters union is the fear of losing their job by being replaced by= Public Safety Officers. I've seen other agencies which are purely consolidated and they operate under one umbrella., one bargaining unit, which represents the Public Safety Officers in doing both of their funct.i.ons. Tha.t.'s a multi-faceted. gzzestion with mtzlt.i-faceted answers. It depends upon what type of jurisdiction you are Looking a.t. COLLINCxS: Does Franklin, Pennsylvania have a, union? Village Council Special Meeting Minutes May 8, 1990 • Page 5 ----------------------- KELLER: Yes. Police Officers are represented by the FOP and their bargaining unit, and the Firefighters are represented by IAFF. BURCKART: How familiar are you with Florida? KELLER: I've been down here on several occasions teaching. I spent one vacation down here. Tn my childhood, I spent. one winter down here, per doctor's orders, because of bronchial. pneumonia. Beyond that, I have to plead innocence to a lot of knowledge. BLRCKART: I am from Buffalo, New York, and I know there is quite a shock. in a change of that sort, moving from up north to Florida. In management of your department, what type of approach do you take: 1) wi.t.h your subordinates, and 2) with the community? KELLER: Being a. Transition Chief, I have a tendency to be very, very much involved in the operation with a "hands-on" approach. As time evolves, and as the organization is put into place and. is starting to develop, I start to use a more delicate approach. I am very • much participative management oriented. I am a firm believer in utilizing the staff in the organizational structure and the day-t.o- day operations. I am a firm believer that the staff should be held accountable and responsible for job tasks and assignments which are given to them. I like to have the staff involved in the writing of Operational Procedures, and I am a very firm believer in the preparation of an Operations Manual which clearly defines the Operations from top t.o bot.tom, inside and out.. Not only from the standpoint that it gives the employees directions and. clearly- defined operational guidelines, but, it also serves as a Training Manual for. new employees as they are brought, on board. I think in a situation such as Tequesta is looking a. t., the implement.at.ion of a Public Safety Program requires a trf~mendous amount, of education on the part of the City Manager, and the Department itself, t.o let. people know what. Public Safety is a]1 about.. Public Safety has a tendency to send "chills" through people, often times because they do not know what it i.s about. It. takes a. great. deal of education. Tn today's Public Safety Operations, it requires a great deal of crime prevention, fire prevention, and fire safety education programs. On the fire side, i_t, requires fire safety i_nspect.ions. So it.'s not a simple process, nor a one-faceted process. I can see it, as being a job t.asl~ that is not only internal, but. also e~t,ernal (i.n the communit.y). • i'i llage Council Special "Ieeting Minutes May 8, 1990 Page 6 ----------------------- BURCIiAR.T: How does a Public Safety Department operate? KELLER: That depends on your type of Public Safety operation. On the assumption of going through the study which was prepared for Tequesta, I get the impression that Tequesta. is looking at going into a ful]_y-consolidated Public Safety Operation, whether the present Police Department will be cross-trained and transformed into the core of the Public Safety operation. Therefore, they would be providing pol..ice, fire, and medical. service from a routine patrol. operation. Z'ou may have one person specializing in fire training, such as a Fire Marshall or Fire Lieutenant. He obviously would be in charge of fire suppression on a fire scene. He would coordinate fire inspections, fire training, etc. But, the basic core of the work force is coming from those who work out of a. marked patrol car. A marked. patrol car would be set up so that they could respond. and handle normal law enforcement services as they do today. The cars would be set. up with complete trauma kits for medical emergencies, including aspiration and oxygen. They- would. be first respondant on all medical.. calls. They would . probably be cross-trained to a minimum level of an EMT, and in some cases, there would. probably be paramedics for advanced life support.. Their response to medical calls wol.zld be to go in, set up (package the patient t.o ready for transport). From the fire suppression standpoint, the fire call would be received, the patrol cars would respond directly t.o the scene and one or two people would respond with the given amount of apparatus as called for in pre-plan. The patrol cars arrive with their turnout gear in the trunk of the car. They can be suited up, possibly have done some preliminary preparation for the first due apparatus, then begin fire suppression or whatever may be required at, that time. Basically, in a consolidated Public Safety operation such as has been recommended for Tequesta, the core is the patrol officers. Ninety percent of their time is spent. in police patrol functions. Through that, they become first respondant for medical, as well as first respondant, for fire suppression. BIIRCKART: How much preparation is required for hazardous materials, and i.n what manner would your department respond to t.ha.t? • Village Council Special Meeting Minutes May 8, 1.990 Page 7 ----------------------- KELLER: We have just completed the purchase of fully-encapsulating suits, Level A and Level B, various plug kits, etc. Setting up and training for. hazardous materials is extremely expensive and time- consumi.ng. unless ,you are in a bigger operation, I am not sure handling of hazardous materials, under the guidelines we are faced. with today, can be done in a very cost-effective manner. MACIiAIL: Public Safety has to have a positive approach, with no morale or attitude problems. What would you implement. to keep the conversion pOS1t1VP.? KELLER,: There are several things that can be done along those lines: 1} examination of present, staff, their skill levels, their present existing training levels, personal interviews, learning what their strengths and weaknesses are. There may be some fears. Iou have to take the strengths of the existing staff, and utilize those to the maximum to try to offset the weaknesses as best as possible. When converting from a traditional police op~ati.on into a Public Safety operation, there is a tremendous amount of training that has to take place. The training is not only time-consuming, but has a tendency to be very costly until. everything is i.n place. There probably will be some attrition. 2) Recruiting: There will obviously be some recruiting to replace those who have gone in attrition. It should be well l.nown and. up front to these recruits that what you are looking for i.s a person to do three functions. If you can find people with these minimum sliil.ls coming in the door, you would be that much farther ahead i.n the developmental. process. It would be difficult to take an 18-year veteran of your department and convert him into a Public Safety Officer, knowing he may only have a 3rear or two to go. That would not be cost.- effective. Y'ou may have to start with a smaller. core. Tequesta. has some advantages in that i_t has Fire/R.escue already in place with Palm Beach County. That might give you an opportunity to get your on-board system up and working before the total. transition. I am not, sure if the transition can be totally positive. The goal and. objective would be to make it as positive as possible. Education and public relations training is very critical. r1 LJ Village Counci l Special Meeting Minutes May 8, 1990 Page 8 ----------------------- MACKAIL: What type of program would you have that. would cause the police to still have a high profile within the community? KELLER: A career firefighter spends 1~ of his time in fire suppression; medical is maybe a percent above that.. The fact that Tequesta is very concerned about the quality of life here, and the fact, that Tequesta. has the lowest crime rate in the State of Florida, is reflective of the opportunity Tequesta has for building a model agency. One of the things that could be done is proper deployment of police personnel. Tequesta is obviously proud of their law enforcement's response time. Response time has a. tremendous impact. on the perception of the public as to how well. an agency performs. One thing that can be done i.s to examine the demand for service and schedule the personnel accordingly, depbyment of personnel into zones based on the demands of service. This enhances response time, and in a. Public Safety concept, gives greater resources for deployment, whether a medical or fire call.. I would make the officers more active, more involved, more diversified. Some employees may see it as a challenge. Routine patrol work has a tendency to be mundane and boring. Franklin found when employees were presented with the opportunity of medical calls and fire suppression, the activity le~•el of the patrol. officer goes up. They feel. more of a challenge and it. becomes more rewarding t.o them. MACKAIL: Our consultant's report was critical of the Police Department, stating there was insufficient documentation. Our Police Chief felt the consultant's report was inaccurate. What reports would you keep on file? KELLER: Understand that the consultant's report. is only one document.. Public Safety is a concept that must. be tailor-made to f.it the community. I sit on the Public Safety Director's Committee of the International Associat.i.on of Chief's of Police, so I have had a tremendous amount of input and exposure to other Public Safety operations throughout the count r. y-. The unique thing about Ft.ablic Safety is, once it is tailored. to meet the needs of the community, i.t may- be vastly different from any other Public Safety operation in a different community. If the operation needs refining and fine tuning, I think the key issue and element is to make yourself totally accountable for everything t.hat's done. By analyzing the Village Council Special Meeting Minutes May 8, 1990 Page 9 ----------------------- specific data, you will. know the most cost.-effect. way to get. mileage out. of your personnel. tendency to be overblown, but I think it is standpoint of documentation. Today we are a society, and without documentation to backup operations, the situation could he critical. ive and productive Paper flow has a critical from the civilly litigated police and fire MAIOR CaPRETTA: Who do you report to, and what is the relationship between you and the City Council? KELLER.: I report t.o the City Manager. The Public. Safety Department and the City Council is a unigc.ze experience. Four years ago the existing Council., looking ahead at the budget. crunch and the physical operations of the City, the declining revenc.ze, decided they could no longer support traditional police and fine and had to consider consolidat.i.on. They decided to pursue Public Safety, merely on the basis of cost.-effectiveness. They did very little publicity, advertising, or public education. A traditional. Polio. Chief who had been Gait the Department 28 years, a.nd a traditional. Fire Chief who had been there for a number of years were both • retired out of the system. I was brought. in as an outsider. It caas an uphill. battle to build the Department and pzzll i. t: together. At. the present time, and. during the coarse of the last. four years, we have gone t.hrozzgh a ]ot of polit.i.cal tuz:moil. We have four new people on Council this year, three of whom caant to go back. to traditional police and fire, with local Chiefs. One person. on Council is a retired Police Lieutenant who went through the transition of traditional. to the Public Safety operation who is very much a supporter of Public Safety. Two of the original seven Councilmembers are also in support. of Public Safety. The five-year audit report recently released showed our Public Safety operation is the only aspect of the City Government i.n the last. four years which has maintained costs on a level basis, chile al.l other operating costs of the City have escalated. There are also a few other place. In 1986, the City of $350,000 for fire operations, have a.n operat.ional budget of only is there a decline in increase in the number of fire levels and the productivity. interesting things which have taken Franklin was spending a 1 i t.tl<_~ ovE~r with 12-14 firefighters. Today, we $315,000 with 31 firefighters. Not the cost-effectiveness, but. a 250% fighters, bringing up the efficiency • Village Council Special Meeting Minutes • May 8, 1990 Page 10 ----------------------- What has happened in Franklin has become purely political.. Some of the people of the City who want t.o go back t.o traditional polir_.e and fire have self-serving reasons for wanting to take that rotate. However, not one has questioned the overall efficiency of the Department. MAYOR CAPRETTA: Let.'s talk about choosing Public Safety for the cost- effectiveness of it. Costs are escalating 30-'l0%/year in the County. When our TAUT group started their study, they dial it on the basis of costs. The study also unveiled the fact that the response time was very good. This area is 40% retirees. You could say that, medical. would be the most pressing factor in Tequesta. Therefore, response time is an important issue. How long would it false (and some key factors) t.o design a Pub l.i.c Safety System and implement it? We need a cost estimate of the transition and amount. of operating costs. KELLER: Two to three years is probably a realistic period of time. I • think the study done by TAUT is probably more accurate than the Public Safety consultant's study which was done, in that. they addressed more facts and numbers as it impacts ,your household today. If yot.z are intending to Z.~ursue Public Safety purely from the standpoint of saving dollars, you are "barking up the wrong tree". You are not going to save dollars in the first couple of years. If you'r.e in the public sector, you have t.o spend money to save money; in the private sector, you have spend money to make money. It takes a tremendous amount of time a.nd money t.o cross- train officers and getting people on board, purchasing fire apparatus. unless you enter into some type of mutual aid agreement, with surrounding areas, fire apparatt.zs is not cheap. There ~<i11 probably be a 12-14 month delivery time on a piece of apprat.us. Your consultant.'s study called for the purchase of one quint and. a. Mini-pumper. I find. t.ha.t an interesting concept.. Franklin went. to a Mini-pumper concept., which is handling 85% of the calls. I am the type of Manager ~.~ho is willing to gamble, innovate, create change, be progressive. Traditionally, if you tall: to firefighters, they will tell ,you you have t.o run a full-sire Class A Engine on every type of call that comes dot~n the road. That. is not so. There are not lots of fires in Tequesta. We found that 85% of our calls could be handled by the Mini-pumper., with one man driving, and. t.wo PSO's on the scene t.o assist. I'ou would have t;.hat based on your existing staffing. • Village Council Special Meeting Minutes • May 8, 1990 Page 11 ----------------------- You have a vast number of shopping centers in Tequesta. They are probably sprinklered and alarmed. A shop manager reports an alarm going off, you respond to the call. Even though it may be a false: alarm, it generates a public perception t.o your abil_it.y to respond and. how you can handle a. given situation. The public's perception of this i.s absolutely critical. You will need at least one, ft_ill-sized CI_a.ss A Engine, probably with a 1500 gallon per minute pump on it, a minimum of a 500 gallon booster tank, and all other equipment. needed. That Engine toda.ys costs a minimum of $180,000-$200,000, depending on what you put. on it,. The study calls for Quint: you've just jacked the price up another $150,000. If you include an aerial. with a bucket on i.t, you're now talking aboz.zt $450,000 for one pier_,e of apparatus. MAYOR CAPRETTA: Most; of those enthusiastic about going to Public Safety are the condo dwellers. You can't fight condo fires with ladders. ItELLER: You can only get so close and go so high with ladders. Beyond that, it's strictly with personnel and interior attack, and it's • strictly ,You against the structure itself. A wise, prz.zdent decision for condos would be to sprinkler them. It goes haclz t.o prevention. MAYOR CAPRETTA: Are you aware of our contract. with Palm Beach County, or the new one we are about to sign? IiELLER: Do you mean the one you are about to sign Thursday night, for seven years, with a two-~=ear out in i. t`' MAYOR CAPRETTA: Yes . when you ta.l.k about, hoz~ 1 ong i t worzld t.a.ke t.o get this thing operation~:xl, can we hit that t.wo-year c~indow? IiELLER: I think a two-year window would be realistic. You could have °our equipment in place. It will not take an extensive amount of time to determine what you will need for apparatus. Two pieces of apparatus would probably do the job for you. I would recommend: 1) go with a 75' Quint with a 1500 gallon/minute pump. I'm not sure I would. go with a Mini-pumper for you people. If you have a fz.zll- sized structure fire, (you have many shopping centers here} - if a fire takes off, it is going to hit mire than one store. MAYOR CAPRETTA: tidould you reommend for us a 1-ti.er or a 2-tier syst.em° kELLER: You have t,o decide whether you are going t.o have a l-t.ier or a 2- tier system. A 1-tier system would mean taking a portion of ;vou~~ l J Village Council Special Meeting Minutes May 8, 1990 Page 12 ----------------------- people and train them in paramedical, so that you always have one paramedic per shift. There is a tremendous cost involved in the development of paramedics in training time. I would probably stay with the 2-tier system, until you could develop your own 1-tier. You could run a 2-tier, still get, out the window, and still be in the ballpark. It.'s training intensive. You will probably have more dollars invested in training costs than actual response time costs. COI,LINCS: Do you ever get into shouting matches with any of your guys'' KELLER: Publicly, no - privately, in my office, yes. I have a firm belief that you praise i.n public and criticize in private. When I bring a guy into my office, whether it.'s to chew him out and correct, a problem, I'll let, him voice his opinion, as long as it is not. hord~ring on insubordination. To serve a specific purpose - for doing things the way I do them, I think all the guys know how I'm going t.o do it. I don't expect the guys to like me - I don't expect. them to agree with me, but. at least respect, me for the job that. I have to do. My guys ma.,y tell you they may not like • everyt,hi_ng I do as a Chief, but at least, if they understand and. respect it, they know I wi_11 be there to back them up. BRADFORD: Would you explain your views on recruitment of Public Safety personnel i_n regards to age, height, intelligence, education, psychological and psyciatric examinations, as well as in regard to women, and ethnic groups. KELLER,: First of all, you can't d:i.scriminate with age, height., sex, or ethnic group. Personally, I don't care whether you're black, white, red, ma]_e, female, Baptist or Catholic - if you want to be a lumberjack, carry your end of the log. I don't care if you're a female - if you can carry a 1 1/2 inch tack line and. you can go into the heat., knoc~i yoiarsel.f out.. If you t~ant t.o be a female patrol officer and you can handle a drunk driver, and you can talk into a bar fight., I don't, care - knock yourself out. I expect. the same standard of every employee, regardless of whether they are sit foot six, or five feet tall. I have a fire foot tall, 11~ pound female patrole officer right now. She tiaas hired under the sa.m~:. guidelines, the same standards as ani-body else. Her expectat.ior,s, and otzr expectations of her are exactly the same as they are with anybody else. We do have have an obligation, once we've gone through the recruiting and hiring process, to make that, person develop into an adequate employee. There are qualities that I like t.o Look for i.n a recruit, that you don't find in a written, oral. or • physical. agili.t.y test. Those ar.e t.lle intangibles such a.s: drive, deli r•e, honesty, i nt.egri ty. Village Council Special Nleet.ing Minutes Ma.y 8, 1990 Page 13 ----------------------- I would probably use the same type of format that c~-e use in Franklin ri-ght now: We go t.o colleges and recruit out. of there. I like to get people who Have some college background, preferably a Degree. When we recruit, we use brochures, for public r.elati.ons work, as well. We tell these people exactly what we're looking for. After we recrui.t., we accept. applications. I made the decision that I would not. accept. any application through the process unless they are already police certified, simply because we can no longer afford. to hire a recruit off the street, and have that person be sent. to an Academy, at. our expense, for four months. When c.'e get that: person bac}: from the Academy, then they are out in t:he street with a Field Trai-ning Officer for another. 12 and now we have spent roughly 5 1/2 months, and cue don't. wee}is , know if they're going to cut, it or not. So, we want, them to have that minimum certifica.t.ion coming in the door. Then they go through a general aptit.u~e written examination. The "survivors" of that, then go through a physical agility test. This in an 8-phase st;at,ion test, with basically five stations that are police oriented, and three stations that are fire oriented. It goes anywhere from a. ladder climb, to dragging a dummy, t.o a half-mile shuttle run - everything i.s time against. the person c~~it.h basically strength, endurance and agility s}.ills incorporated. The survivors of that. then take a test from Reed & Associates out of Chicago, which is a job aptitude test. They basically look for drug involvement, alcohol. im-olvement., job attitude, et.c. We get: the results after that which sa.y recommended or not recommended. If they're not. recommended, they're out. of the process. We then send the files of the survivors of that on to the detectives and the investigator then go out and do a background. check, tie. do « background check before the oral. int.ervi.ec~= beca~zse I ~~-a.nt. to have some d-ata on hand before that oral panel t.o ask of the candidate. Our oral panel. consists of one person from police, one from fire, the EMS Di-rector, one Councilman, and one citizen at large who i.s usually an educator, 1_i.ke the Principal of the. local High School, and myself as the Moderator. I don't. score - I don't do anything - 1 just moderate and listen to the answers. The survivors of the oral., their raw scores on the caritt.en, their physical agi-lit pass/fail, and the raw scores on the oral a.re then. tallied up and cue establish an eligibility list. F~°om that point. they are sent. to a local. unvF~rsity where we conduct: a clinical psychological. by a Psychologist on staff; we give them the MMCI 30-~15 minut.e oral i.ntc:rview. He then sends a one-page written document to us showing that person's strengths and weaknesses. I like to use the psychological to work with the strengths. If there is a shortcoming, that's an area we know c:e need to c~orl: with, and maybe t.or on a regular basis , anti l c.-e' re out of the dar}i a.rea.s . moni . Village Council Special Meeting "ii nutE's • May 8, 1990 Page 14 ----------------------- We then take them to the hospital. where we have a staff that. handles all public safety employees, where they receive a physical, annually. After the pysical exam, I then bring them i.n for the final interview. If they are mar°ried, or engaged., I ask that the;: bring their potenti_a,l spouse with them. T wan. t. that spouse to clearly understand what. they are gF•tting nt.n. I've seen nfficer~. go down the tubes because of marital problems, simply becaiase~ their spouse did not understand this person is going t.o be wor}~i_ng shifts, called out. in the middle of t11e night, have to go to court. Once the person i s ?~ i red , t~hez- spend the first t~~:-o weeks doing nothing but. reading P;;l icy- Fr~cedure. T}~ey then go o~rt ort the road for a 10-':2 week per:~d of *ime with a T'i.e1d Training Officer (FTO) o:r a coach. Prom ±he time we'vr~ r~c~cr;aited that. person to the time they'`.'e~ c~omplet.F~d t he~i_r FTO program, T thinl; c,-F' ~-F~ ~sc~t ~, r t_t i- good handle on t:hc-~t.her t.he~- a.re going t.a et_rt i t. pr or r.ot. ? expect, high standards, productiti-it3- and professionalism. T don't want to ge#~. involved in personalities nor politics. • ~3R.ADFORD: :1 hypothetical situation: While yo~z're on vacation, a member of the Village Council contacts the Captain in your Department and indicates a desire for the tin Parking restrictions in the Country- Club are t.o be more stringent. than enforced. To date the Department ha,s reluctantly employed par}:ing citation issuance and. follow-up tow-away request. authority. After receiving' the Councilman's complaint,, the Captain orders t.}~e Fi.abli_c Safety Patrol Officer t.o st.rictly enfccrce parking r~egirlatiores, ticketing every car in violation of t.he. Parking Cade, and ordering toc,~-aways as aut,hori_zed. This mandate leads t.o immediate issi.zance of a large volume of tickets and a comparable expression of 7;ublic dissa.tisfa.ct.ion. This is the sit.rcat.ion when you arrive on the job the next, morning. What. actions would you take in this situation:' IiELLER: Assuming this Captain is in charge in m~ absence, my first approach would be to the Captain, asking for a.n explana.tion of what. happened and why, what. hi_s logic and reasoning was for t.a}:ing the approach that he used. I think there a.re certain types of scenarios a.nd situations where you have to swat flies with a sledgehammer, but I prefer to catch them ti.ith honey. After the C'apt.ain has explained the rationale a.nd reasoning for the approach, T would examine the original policy a.s to why this was never applied equitably, fairly, and as directed to begin with. That is probably what caused the existing problem. If that had been done, the Captain would not, have had to su<::cumb to political pressure while T was out, of town. • Village Council Special Meeting Minutes • May 8, 1990 Page 15 ----------------------- I would probably go t.o the Country Club seeking compliance from them, explaining to them a problem which remained unaddressed in the past has been overdone, and we need their help in correcting the problem. The next thing T would do is go through the City Manager and inform you there was a political problem that existed with one of the Councilmen who had jumped. the chain of command. I can't have Councilmembers running to my staff giving them immediate direction as to how they want things done on an individual basis. Otherwise, we've t,ota.lly disrupted the chain of command. How the City Manager handles that, I don't, kno~~. • • tiillage Council Special Meeting Minutes May 8, 1990 • Page 16 ----------------------- EDWARD F.HIMMEL:SBACH 3611 Cosmos Street Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 3310 (40i) 622-6640 HOWELL: Tell us about. yourself. HIMMELSBACH: I've been in law enforcement for. approximately 25 years some of it in New Jersey, and 23 of those 25 years here in Florida. I started with the Martin County Sheriffs Department, the I went down t.o the North Palm Beach a.nd worked in the Department of Public Safety and worked my- way up to Assistant. Chief and taas acting Chief for a period of time while the Chief had throat cancer. From there I went. on to be Chief of Police of Palm Beach Gardens until I left. there in 1985. Then went down to run security at t7niversity and Polo Club i.n Boca Raton. At the present time I work for the Sheriffs Department. HOWEL,L,: What. attracted. you t.o this posit.i.on'? HIMMELSBACH: Tequesta has advertised for a Director of Public Safety and I have always liked the area of Tequesta. T_n fact,, when I wa.s Chief of Police of Palm Beach Gardens, I commented several t.i_mes that I would enjoy working in Tequesta. When the joh came open, I sought t.o put. in a resume and thought it, would be something I would enjoy. HOWELL.: Yota are married with children? HIMMELSBACH: Yes, sir, I have two grown daughters. They are both married and I have three grandchildren. They all live i.n the .Juno-Palm Beach Gardens area. HOWELL: Are you originally from Florida? HIMMELSBACH: No Sir, I'm originally from New Jersey. T have lived. in Florida the last 25 years. Bt;RCHAART: From being a Police Chief, tahat. is your management. approach ir: dealing with your subordinates and superiors'' • Village Council Special Meeting Minutes May 8, 1990 • Page 17 ----------------------- HIMMELSBACH: I feel. I have strong management, but fair, and I feel that the people that. I work for are the ones that I'm going to do the job for beca~~se of what it. takes. BURCHART: How do you balanr.e your time regarding public relai.tons and working within the Department itself? HIMMELSBACH: I have was Chief d relationship that we put belonged to quite good. always felt strongly towards public. relations. tti'hen I own i_n Palm Beach Gardens, we had a very good working with the community. We had crime prevention programs on, programs within the school system. At that time I several clubs. I think our commi_inity awareness wa.s BL'R.CHAR.T: What. was the Gardens Public Safety program 1 ilie? HIMMELSBACH: There has never been Public Safety i.n Palm Beach Gardens. I worked Public Safety when I was in 'north Palm Beach. forth Palm Beach is still. Public Safety, the Gardens ha.s never been Public Safety. BliRCHART; Have you ever had any e~:posure t.o public safet.y`' HIMMELSBACH: Yes si.r. I was twelve years with tiorth Fal.m Beach ti.orking the Public Safety System and paramedics. We started the paramedic program. I wa.s second in command. BliRCKART: What dial your wholesale/retail business involve? HIMMELSBACH: I wa.s buying and sellig merchandise out of the Mi.a.mi area and up in Jacksonvil]_e. I so]_d ]ocal]y to different merchants and market vendors. COLLI\GS: Iinowi.ng what, you know of Tequesta, do you t.hinl: Tequ~st,a should go t.o Public Safet.y° HIMMELSBACH: It's a workable concept, with proper management and. community participation. It. has pros and cons. I t.hi.nk it would ~aorl: in Tequesta.. COL,LI?~~GS: How would you staff a Public Safety Department:' • ~'i llage Counci l Special. Meeting Minutes May 8, 1990 Page 18 ----------------------- HIMMELSBACH: There are different. ways of staffing. Yoi; could set up a lot:- cost Depa.rt.ment. If I could staff a. Public Safety Department the wa.y I wanted t.o st,aff it, there would be firemen on each shift with a I,ieut.ena.nt or Captain, whatever the rank may he for fire, at least one, may be two, cross-trained officers on every shift. That. concept would be a workable concept. COLhINGS: How would you go about the cross-training? HIMMELSBACH: Well, they only have four day cl:~.sses a.nd t.wo night, classes per 3-ear - it.'s a seven-week class. You could send one or two at. a time, until you have enough certified for cross-tsa.ining. I would t.ry t.o hire qualified firemen and a Fire Chief from the outside. COLI,TNGS: Do you know how many policemen we have right. now? HIMMELSBACH: Sixteen, sir. COLT_,INCzS : What. methodol ogy wool d yot.t use t.o select, t.hPm to cross-train? HIMMELSBACH: Well I think I would to the i_ndi_vidual officers to see if they're interested i.n becoming a cross-trained individual, then go on from there. There would. also be some I;hysical requirements. COI,L,INGS : Any other requi rement.s other than physi_cal.? HIMMELSBACH: Mental. He's got to want, to do it. I would advertise fo7, outsiders to come in if I didn't have enough officers within. I've come to know a lot of people over the years, and I. feel I could recruit. from that base. COI.I:INGS: Ilat•e you fought a fire yourself. IIMMELSBACH: I'es, i.n North Palm Beach. MACI~AIL: Do you feel Public., Sa.fet:y tra.i.ning has to start. at the top? IIMMELSBACH: Yes, sir. There has to be a need their with the city fathers. MACI~AIL: How would you implement the program? HIMMELSBACH: First I would find out who wants to be cross-trained, then order pumpers, either ne~.T or used, or custom-made. • Village Council Special Meeting Minutes • May 8, 1990 Page l9 ----------------------- ~tACkAII~: There may be a morale or attitude problem within the Department. when swi tchi.ng t.o Public Safety. Would y°ou try- to achieve an understanding of the concept from the employees first. and try t.o work with the staff, or immediat.el_y go or.it.side? HIMMELSBACH: I would start, wi+hin first, t.o see t~-hat. ? had to wor}~ with. MACIIAII:: Explain the goals of a career de~-c>lopment program that. shotz}d he in a Department of Pr_~blic Sa.fet.y and what plans, a.s a Pub]_ic Safety Director, would you implement to achieve those programs`' HIti]MEI.SBACH: We]1, you have to have strong law enforcement anal strong Pr~blic Safety. I don't. know what. yorzr feelings are on emergency medical. I won't go into that. at, the present. time since I haven't heard the question come up. You have to show you are capable of those jobs. MAC`KAIL: How would you recruit regarding age, ethnic background, etc. • HIMMELSBACH: First, T would. see if they're int.erest.ed in being cross- trained, make sure they are physically- fit, prefez°ably with some background i n lar~- and/or• fire . Tl~~ey ~,oiild have to be sound to start with. T helievc~ in tF~st.ing. MACIiA?T,: Hor~~ long would. it take t.o i_mp] ement a Fubl is Safety program`' HIMMELSBACH: One year minimum. I would be more comfortable with 1 7/2 to 2 years. MAYOR CAPRETTA: Are you fami ]_ar wi t.h our consul tart's repor. t , and i f s,, what. did. yorz think. of that report? ITTMMELSBACT~: I'es, sir. That's c,~hat they sent mP. I agree with the Public Safety aspect.; regarding the existing Police Depa.rt.rnent, T couldn't. say. MAYOR. CAPRETTA: would yorz recommend. for Tequest.a. a 2-t.ier system`' T-TIMMELSBACH: From the report, T gather Tequesta is not real. happy t.-ith the way their emergency medical is at t.hc-: present. time. Tn implement a paramedic snit rait.h your Pr~bl.ic Safety concept. would innlrrde 1250 hours for paramedic school, plus three full terms of college. You c.-ould need at, least one paramedic and one EMT on evE~ry call You would probably need about si5~ paramedics in the ~'i_llage CJ Village C;ounoi l Special. Meeting Minutes May- 8, 1990 • Page 20 ----------------------- to run an emergency- medical program. T would look to the outside and bring in already trained paramedics. I feel more strongly- regarding Public Safety than paramedics. MAYOR CAPRETTA: Regarding startup costs, could Tequesta get equal ~r better service for comparable cost.? HTMMELSBACH: The first. few years of Public Safety wil] be more expensive. It. will level out in the fol.]o~.-ing few years. MAYOR CAPRETTA: How long would it. take to de~~elop a feasibility- stzady° and implementation the plan? HIMMELSBACH: It ~.-oczld take 2-3 months t,o d~ a complete plan. BRADFORD: Define the role of the Village Council, Village Manager a.nd the Fublic Safety Director, and the proper working relationship betc.~een each. HIMMELSBACH: The Mayor decides what is best for the community. That. is related down to the Village Manager. Then a decision is made and handed down to the Public Safety Director. BRADFORD: What is your managment style regarding subordinates? HIMMF.t,SBACH: I am strong, bz.~t fair. I do not like dual standards. F~~ery man is a representative, and should carry himself accordingly. I have a good rapport with my- men. BRADFORD: Who defines the men's jobs? HIMMELSBACH: The Policies and Procedures Manual defines the jobs and the supervisor assigns. F..very man should know his job - no gzzess~.~orlc. The job description should be outlined specifica,ll,y. It. should not be left. t.o the subordinate's discretion. BRADFORD: Define "aggressive patrol" and "directed patrol". HIMMELSBACH: Aggressive patrol is where the officer takes init.i.ative (i_.e., checks backs of buildings, doors, any lights tha-t, are on). "Di_r_ect.ed patrol" is a.n officer patrols an area. because he ha.s been assigned t.o do so. BRADFORD: What personal or professi.ona.l weaknesses do y-ou perceivc> in yozzrse 1 f , i f any? • Village Council Special Meeting Minutes May 8, 1990 Page 21 ----------------------- HIMMELSBACH: I don't, see any. COLLINGS: How c.~ould you fire someone? HIMMELSBACH : I wouldn't, do that. until I had gi ~°en a t,horot.agh eval ~zat i on of his performance. COLLINGS: You have an enviable list of schools and courses on your resume. HIMMELSBACH: I try to find out. everything. I did most of that schooling on my own time. I like to go to school.. ^1ACKAII,: When Public Safety is i.mplementd, there is a]_ways are adverse effect. Have you ever seen a change-, in attitude once an objector is trained? HIMMELSBACH: Yes, in North Palm Beach. This officer knew he could. do the job, but didn't want, t.o. He was given an ult.imatium. He mellowed after training. III. ANY OTHER MATTERS There being no other matters the meeting was adjourned at. 11 :2i A.M. Respectfully submit.t.ed, ~/ `~ Fran Bitters Recording SecrPtarz~ ~. ATT °~ ./"/ ~ { ~~ Bill C. scavelis Finance Director/VIllage Cleriz DATE APPROVED: ~~ i9~~