The Public Services Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Monday, January 5, 2004, @ 6:30p.m. in the Administration Building’s Conference Room East.  Chairman Marlene Allen called the meeting to order.  Members present were Pat LaVigne, Eric Johnson, Julia Fullerton, Sue Leifheit, Robert Rosemier and Richard Osborne.  Eileen Dubin, Steve Faivre and Jeff Metzger were absent.   Others present were Ray Bockman, Margi Gilmour, Greg Millburg, Steve Kuhn, Margaret Whitwell, Mary Olson and Sheriff Scott.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

Moved by Mr. Rosemier, seconded by Ms. LaVigne, and it was carried unanimously to approve the December 2003 minutes.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Moved by Ms. Leifheit, seconded by Mr. Rosemier, and it was carried unanimously to approve the agenda.

PUBLIC DEFENDER’S REPORT

Mr. Ken Johnson, DeKalb County Public Defender, was absent at a seminar in Chicago and therefore, Chairman Allen stated that if anyone had any questions pertaining to his report to please call him at his office.

COURT SERVICES MONTHLY AND ANNUAL REPORTS

Ms. Margi Gilmour, Director of the DeKalb County Court Services Department, reviewed her Adult and Juvenile Monthly Reports.  She said that with regards to her adult court services report and the Community Restitution Report, that the numbers both remain consistent

With regards to her Juvenile Court Services Report, there were 11 detentions that she had for the month of November.  She continued by stating that 2 were detained twice.  Of the 11 detained 2 were for the 2^nd time, 3 for the 3^rd time, 3 for the 4^th time, 2 each for the 5^th and 6^th time.  The two kids detained last month for the 10^th time and the 16^th time were released in November.

She said that she felt that the Kane County Detention Agreement might last as long at early 2006.  She will verify those numbers and get back to the committee in the near future with the actual date. 

Ms. Gilmour then informed the committee that they had pretty good news from the DNA information,  that is, that the swabs are going to be available shortly.  That will be good news for her department since it means that they will be saving money by not having the blood testing performed.  Her officers will be trained on how to do the swab collection.

She finally mentioned that there is pending legislation under HB3555 regarding lifetime (10 – 20 years) probation for sex offenders and that it is likely that it will pass in the Spring.  She also said that there is no money attached to this legislation.  Ms. Gilmour said that she will be looking at the juvenile and adult numbers and will share that information with the committee in the future and see how it would affect her department.  It will be like intensive probation. It will form a new branch of probation, because the probation will last for up to 10 to 20 years.  The defendants could be reporting daily, weekly, monthly, she just doesn’t know yet.  Ms. Gilmour said that she would get a copy of the legislation to Mr. Bockman, County Administrator, this week.

Moved by Ms. Leifheit, seconded by Ms. LaVigne, and it was carried unanimously to place the Public Defender’s Reports and Court Services Reports on file and made a part of these minutes. 

JAIL REFERENDUM

Sheriff Roger Scott informed the committee as to what the status is on the jail referendum issue.  He outlined the history of how it all started in June of 2003 with the 1^st report concerning the future of jail was presented by him to this committee. He stated that in September of 2002 the Ad Hoc Committee was formed and hired a consultant to study the issue.  In January of 2003 the consultants began the work and their final results were presented to the Ad Hoc Committee in August of 2003.  In October of 2003 it was adopted by the full board to the jail referendum issue for DeKalb County voters to consider in March of 2004.

Currently Sheriff Scott is trying to educate the public about the issue.  He is looking at forming a public safety citizens group to help get the word out to the public.  They will be accepting donations to help fund this committee since they can’t use tax dollars to educate the public. They have been seeking endorsements and they do have a few of them currently.

He needs this committee to help get the word out as county board members by securing meetings with various groups or organizations in their districts. He has already shared the information with the county department heads and has asked for their help too.

Sheriff Scott outlined the long-term consequences of a NO Vote in March 2004.  He said that a few of them are the following: housing of inmates at other jails result in significant costs for housing and transportation; officer safety issues in overcrowded jail; more inmates being released on own recognizance; federal mandates through law suits; and some patrol deputies being pulled off the street, to handle jail related duties. 

The committee thanked Sheriff Scott for his update.

EXEMPT EMPLOYEE REVIEW/APPROVAL OF STANDARD WORK PLAN

Mr. Bockman, County Administrator, stated that the county is now implementing the Standard Work Plans for all of the exempt employees.  When it comes to the review/evaluation of each exempt employee in the fall the committees need to ask, “Did this person accomplish what they said they wanted to?”  This is what the plans are for between each exempt employee and their respective committee. 

The second part of this evaluation process is the personal development plan agreement. This is a private agreement between Mr. Bockman and the individual department head whereby they will need to complete 40 hours of professional development.

The third component of this plan will be discussed at the January meeting of the Administrative Services Committee with regards to exceptional performance. Nominations will go to the executive committee to review.

Mr. Rosemier stated that he felt by reviewing the various plans of the exempt employees he feels that their jobs are immense.  He said that he doesn’t have a problem with these people but perhaps something should be referenced about their communication skills, how they treat people, if they dress appropriately, do they treat people well, etc.  Mr. Bockman said that if there are any discipline or discharge problems then the county does have a personnel manual that he refers to. 

After futher discussion, Chairman Allen, said that if any of the members have any questions regarding the plans, then please call the department head that the plan is applicable to or Mr. Bockman.   

REVIEW OF REPORT SCHEDULE

Ms. Supple, DeKalb County Board Coordinator, presented the annual Report Schedule of various departments that report to the committee. She stated that she would like to have the members review it and get back to her if there were any questions or suggested changes.  She said that she is also mailing them out to the department heads that report to the committee for their review and approval. 

ADJOURNMENT

Moved by Mr. Rosemier, seconded by Mr. Johnson, and it was carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting.

                                                          Respectfully submitted,

                                                          __________________________________
                                                          Marlene Allen, Chairman

_____________________________
Mary C. Supple, Secretary