C I T Y O F F O R T P I E R C E
CONFERENCE AGENDA MINUTES
Conference Agenda Meeting - Monday, July 14, 2014 - 8:30 a.m.
City Hall - 2nd Floor Conference Room, 100 North U.S. #1, Fort Pierce, Florida
1.
Call to Order at 8:37 a.m.
2.
Pledge of Allegiance
3.
Roll Call
- Present:
- Commissioner Rufus Alexander; Commissioner Thomas Perona; Mayor Linda Hudson
- Absent:
- Commissioner Edward Becht; Commissioner Reginald Sessions
- Staff Present:
-
- Linda Cox, City Clerk
- Robert Bradshaw, City Manager
- Robert Schwerer, City Attorney
4.
New Business
A.
Discussion of Lincoln Theater Facade Restoration
No representative present, item was tabled.
No representative present, item was tabled.
B.
Discussion of Active EEOC Claims - City Attorney & Administrative Services Director
The City Commission held a discussion on the policies and procedures of an E.E.O.C. claim. Mr. Tony Barnes stated it all starts with education and training and they are in the process of updating the employee handbooks to include more of the daily policies and procedures with a draft out to management next week. There is an implemented open door policy Mr. Barnes feels has instilled trust with the employees, any one can come to him at any time and know they are not going to be taken advantage of. There was discussion of annual additional training for all employees as well as a program for mandatory supervisory training to insure the front managers remain knowledgeable on what they can and cannot do or say. When a complaint or grievance is filed, the Human Resources Department handles this process. They meet with the parties and attempt to resolve the issue, documenting and conducting the investigation and keeping a file to show the City's due diligence. However, the City will have no documentation of an investigation if the complainant is claiming discrimination as it goes straight to the EEOC. Risk Management will get involved if it is determined they need be, otherwise they are not part of the complaint process.
Mr. Schwerer stated the City has had a very clear policy in place for many years with the League of Cities in respect to lawsuits. They do not the settle the case without consulting with the City. Management is always involved and the City is in control 100%. Settlements don’t happen just because someone files a lawsuit, they are evaluated, and if the City is wrong we attempt to resolve it.
The City Commission held a discussion on the policies and procedures of an E.E.O.C. claim. Mr. Tony Barnes stated it all starts with education and training and they are in the process of updating the employee handbooks to include more of the daily policies and procedures with a draft out to management next week. There is an implemented open door policy Mr. Barnes feels has instilled trust with the employees, any one can come to him at any time and know they are not going to be taken advantage of. There was discussion of annual additional training for all employees as well as a program for mandatory supervisory training to insure the front managers remain knowledgeable on what they can and cannot do or say. When a complaint or grievance is filed, the Human Resources Department handles this process. They meet with the parties and attempt to resolve the issue, documenting and conducting the investigation and keeping a file to show the City's due diligence. However, the City will have no documentation of an investigation if the complainant is claiming discrimination as it goes straight to the EEOC. Risk Management will get involved if it is determined they need be, otherwise they are not part of the complaint process.
Mr. Schwerer stated the City has had a very clear policy in place for many years with the League of Cities in respect to lawsuits. They do not the settle the case without consulting with the City. Management is always involved and the City is in control 100%. Settlements don’t happen just because someone files a lawsuit, they are evaluated, and if the City is wrong we attempt to resolve it.
C.
Discussion of the Use of the Shotspotter System by Other Jurisdictions - Chief Baldwin
Most communities are not just implementing Shot Spotter; they are implementing a number of strategies at the same time in response to the violence in the community. Chief Baldwin will be providing for the Commission in the very near future a presentation of the Comprehensive Gang Model they are hoping to implement along with the Shot Spotter program. It all comes down to the funding.
The Police Department has applied for funding from a number of different sources, most recently with Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in partnership with the Housing Authority. If the City gets the grant, it will pay for the initial installation and service for one year. He stated there has been some interest in a partnership with the Sheriff’s office, but Chief Baldwin has not determined at what level at this time. To update the status of the program, the City is waiting to hear back from HUD. He stated a great application was submitted with a lot of positive feedback, the application is now awaiting a random pick process for final approval.
A recommendation to cut down on possible false positive reports in one of the studies states that every time an officer responds to a call they should do an investigation for verification and then feed that information back to the system. Chief Baldwin identified a big problem for Fort Pierce is that the police are not getting a report, no one is calling. They are either assuming someone else has made the call or the police should be hearing it and be there. This system helps improve relationships with the community by increasing their confidence. Chief Baldwin stated Shot Spotter is just a tool; it has to be part of a bigger strategy to reduce violence in our community.
Most communities are not just implementing Shot Spotter; they are implementing a number of strategies at the same time in response to the violence in the community. Chief Baldwin will be providing for the Commission in the very near future a presentation of the Comprehensive Gang Model they are hoping to implement along with the Shot Spotter program. It all comes down to the funding.
The Police Department has applied for funding from a number of different sources, most recently with Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in partnership with the Housing Authority. If the City gets the grant, it will pay for the initial installation and service for one year. He stated there has been some interest in a partnership with the Sheriff’s office, but Chief Baldwin has not determined at what level at this time. To update the status of the program, the City is waiting to hear back from HUD. He stated a great application was submitted with a lot of positive feedback, the application is now awaiting a random pick process for final approval.
A recommendation to cut down on possible false positive reports in one of the studies states that every time an officer responds to a call they should do an investigation for verification and then feed that information back to the system. Chief Baldwin identified a big problem for Fort Pierce is that the police are not getting a report, no one is calling. They are either assuming someone else has made the call or the police should be hearing it and be there. This system helps improve relationships with the community by increasing their confidence. Chief Baldwin stated Shot Spotter is just a tool; it has to be part of a bigger strategy to reduce violence in our community.
Mr. Mimms responded to Commissioner Alexander the City has been televised for over a couple of years now. The Commission chambers will be retrofitted with additional cameras, new cameras that can be remote controlled from either our control room or remote sites. He feels staff can adequately get the necessary training and work with an outside consultant to reduce our costs to the county and still televise our meetings. He stated the City will be seeing reduced technological costs this upcoming fiscal year.
5.
Adjournment at 10:05 a.m.