City Council

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MAY 23, 2016 The City Council of DeKalb, Illinois held a Committee of the Whole meeting on May 23, 2016 in the City Council Chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, located at 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. Mayor Rey called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. A. ROLL CALL City Clerk Jennifer Jeep Johnson called the roll, and the following members of the City Council were present: Alderman Bill Finucane, Alderman Michael Marquardt, Alderman Bob Snow, Alderman Kate Noreiko, Alderman Dave Baker, Alderman Tony Faivre and Mayor John Rey. Alderman Dave Jacobson arrived at 5:07 p.m. Also present were: City Manager Anne Marie Gaura, Assistant City Manager Patty Hoppenstedt, City Attorney Dean Frieders, Finance Director Cathy Haley, Police Chief Gene Lowery, Fire Chief Eric Hicks, Public Works Director Tim Holdeman, City Engineer John Laskowski, Long Range Planner Derek Hiland, Crime Free Housing and Inspection Coordinator Carl Leoni, Management Analyst Jared Heyn, MPA Intern Chris Jackson, and City Clerk Jennifer Jeep Johnson. B. ITEMS ALSO ON THE REGULAR AGENDA There were none. C. CONSIDERATIONS 1. 2016 First Quarter Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Report. Management Analyst Heyn introduced this topic, explaining that the City had begun tracking information on FOIA requests much more closely. He explained that a FOIA request constitutes any request for public records maintained by a public body. He made a distinction between commercial and non-commercial requests – those which are made for business purposes, and those made by citizens for non-business purposes. He showed a graph, detailing commercial request breakdown, of which there were 50. He then showed a chart of the staff labor breakdown required to tend to the requests. Management Analyst Heyn also presented a graph of non-commercial requests, of which there were 58. He explained that there was a much greater diversity in these requests. Committee of the Whole Meeting May 23, 2016 Page 2 of 6 He explained that staff time does not correlate directly with the types of requests, particularly those requests which require emails due to the confidential information that needs to be identified, and redacted. Management Analyst Heyn provided a graph which explained that non-commercial requests require significantly more staff time, due to commercial requests largely looking at very specific information that doesn’t require redacting confidential information. He projected that the next year will bring roughly 440 requests, at over 1,000 staff hours spent on FOIA requests (750 non-commercial requests). Alderman Jacobson stated that he has received complaints that the number of requests has increased due to having to submit FOIAs for information that should be readily available. Management Analyst Heyn responded that that the City takes a very conservative approach to FOIA requests, in order to ensure that requests are properly tracked and tended to, so as not to violate the timelines within the statute. Alderman Snow stated that the staff time should be unaffected by the form in which the request is received. City Attorney Frieders added that prior to implementing the current system of processing FOIAs, the responses were sometimes not being answered in a timely fashion. He added that it was also a goal of the City’s to ensure that the best answers are being given to those seeking information. 2. Crime Free Housing 2015 Annual Report Crime Free Housing and Inspection Coordinator Leoni provided an update from the Crime Free Housing Bureau. He explained that the program began in 2013, stating it is an anti- crime program, characterizing it as a behavior driven program intended to ensure safe housing for all. To date, they have notified landlords of 1,750 crimes, though no evictions have been as a result, nor any fines (though there is a fine structure in place, should the need arise). He highlighted that this program has training in place that prevents discrimination against victims of domestic violence. He further stated that the goals are to reduce crime, and fear of crime. Crime Free Housing and Inspection Coordinator Leoni reported that the division has handled over 335 cases this year, and provided the types of crimes reported. He added that the numbers experienced an increase in 2014, which was expected as people gain trust in the program, and report more. He provided further breakdown of the crimes reported to the program, and explained that the landlords have responded very well. He explained that calls for crime have dropped, due to the success of the program, and the dedication of man hours.  Committee of the Whole Meeting May 23, 2016 Page 3 of 6 Crime Free Housing and Inspection Coordinator Leoni added that they’ve held 32 training classes for landlords, highlighting the need for such classes. He explained that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and also provides opportunities for networking and partnerships. He explained that five inspectors assigned to zones respond to complaints. They are responsible for checking 16,000 residents. Violations are observed in a variety of manners: visual inspection, app, telephone, stopping by the PD, and via website. In 2015, there were 2,339 inspections. Violators were sent warning letters, and then citations. He emphasized that that the City has a very high compliance rate, and that the inspectors are very good at working with the owners. The largest area of complaints includes: 1) weeds and grass complaints; 2) garbage; and 3) snow covered side-walk complaints. He explained that the complaints have come from everywhere in the City. Alderman Jacobson asked how many hours inspectors work, with the response being anywhere from 16-20 hours a week. Alderman Jacobson asked how many of the inspections were complaint driven, with the response being roughly a third. The estimate for the total cost of the program for both last year, and this year is $240,000. Brief discussion ensued as to the approach of making their way through all of the housing stock within DeKalb, and on what timeframe. Mayor Rey complimented Crime Free Housing and Inspection Coordinator Leoni on his management of the program, attributing a lot of its success to his leadership. He stated that his personal experience with the program has been positive. Crime Free Housing and Inspection Coordinator Leoni thanked him, and stated that he has a great staff, and that the residents have been largely easy to work with. Police Chief Lowery added that grass can be a problem with foreclosure properties, and he asked for patience from the community on the issue. He further added that he’d be happy to produce a report on the effectiveness of the Crime Free Housing Division, and that the analysis would become available to Council members as well. 3. Police Department 20/20 Vision for the Future Phase Two In 2013, the 20-20 vision plan introduced 20 programs in 20 months. He provided examples of programs that came from this initiative, including Camp Power. He added that the 2014 annual report provided detail on the original 20-20. Police Chief Lowery then introduced the following program: Committee of the Whole Meeting May 23, 2016 Page 4 of 6 2016: 20-20 Vision for the Future Phase 2: Building Bridges with a Clear Vision for a Safer Community. He stated the goal is to have the community as a stakeholder and a partner in the success of the program. Police Chief Lowery explained there are two categories of programming: Bridge Builders (tangible things as well as philosophy), and Proactive Measures. Bridge Builders 1) Parent and Police Partnership: Using school resource officers to work with the parents. 2) Camp Power and Power Up: Expanding the program to other neighborhoods, mentioning the Go Fund Me Page, thanking the YMCA for taking over management of the program, encouraging people to donate. The program is a summer program for those in grade school to middle school. 3) Crisis Intervention and De-escalation Program: Primarily to decrease the amount of use of force by the Police Department in the community. 4) Cyberbullying and Social Media Awareness Program: Within the schools, to help educate children on this issue. 5) Accreditation Program: Ensuring that departments meet certain standards, to make sure that policies and procedures are up to best methodologies of police practice. This is important to ensure that the Police Department is always up to date, and changes with the development of best practices. 6) Project Hope: Heroin Outreach Program: Prevention and intervention of heroin abuse. 7) Police Chiefs Lead the Way: To address stress and PTSD of Police Officers. 8) Peer and Family Support: Targeted internally to ensure mental and physical wellness of Police Officers. 9) Safe Parks: Addressing a wide variety of public safety and quality of life in parks. Proactive Measures 1) Gang Crime and Gun Violence Reduction Program. 2) Community Alliance to Reduce Sexual Assault: He explained that incidents of sexual assault rose last year, and so there will be collaboration with other  Committee of the Whole Meeting May 23, 2016 Page 5 of 6 groups in order to address these issues to ensure that these crimes are reduced. 3) Traffic Accident Reduction and Pedestrian Safety Program. 4) Domestic Violence Reduction Strategies: 2015 brought a rise in these issues. He mentioned that the lack of State budget has affected this issue, as service agencies have not had the funding to help deal with these problems. 5) Internet Safe Zone at the Police Department: Facilitating online interactions. 6) Key on Three: Persons, Places, and Behavior: Trying to design the best way to deal with offenders. 7) Neighborhood Policing Plan called Partnering with the Community: Go into neighborhoods and conduct focus groups to ascertain what their concerns are. Community members will be part of addressing them. 8) Policing with a Purpose: Building trust within the community. 9) Public Safety Communication Interoperability, 911 PSAP: Looking at opportunities to work within the consolidation, and addressing IT concerns. 10) Working with NIU, school districts, Kish College to address underage drinking issues. Chief Lowery offered that he does not support lowering the drinking age, due to the inevitable rise in underage drinking that follows. Alderman Noreiko applauded the outreach efforts of the Police Department, and wondered whether any staff members had been assigned to these initiatives. Police Chief Lowery stated he has dealt with it on a higher level, but was waiting for Council approval before staffing out. Alderman Jacobson stated that he appreciates a lot of the initiatives, but he doesn’t support significant resources being dedicated to underage drinking prevention, because it isn’t realistic to expect to prevent it. Alderman Jacobson also inquired as to the calls for service, with Police Chief Lowery stating there was a slight decrease in calls for service, but a huge increase of 911 calls. He stated they are looking at ways to address these issues, adding that due to sophisticated software, they are able to locate the caller very well now, which results in higher call responses. D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Bessie Chronopoulos (regarding FOIA) stated that a lot can be done to cut back on the number of requests and hours, especially via use of the website. She encouraged Committee of the Whole Meeting May 23, 2016 Page 6 of 6 updated procedures, and utilization of the website. Regarding Crime Free Housing, she stated that the level of responsiveness and professionalism is great from the Police Department. She wondered whether leases were tough on parties that might be problematic. She stated she would like an explanation on Crime Free Housing, and how it interacts with other forms of inspections. She stated that the Police Department should look into helping seniors with the IRS scam calls. Michael Haji-Sheikh provided a handout with examples of email listings, and stated the City should consider joining the way NIU addresses such listings, because each email shouldn’t have to be reviewed. Misty Haji-Sheikh stated she appreciated the City putting together data on FOIA, and that she encourages saving money. She stated that the way the data was presented was misleading. She said she likes the idea of putting more information on the website, and agreed that email listings are a great way of saving time, as would putting already FOIA’d information on the website. She extended compliments on the new format of the agenda. E. RECESS FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL None scheduled. F. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Alderman Jacobson moved to adjourn the Committee of the Whole meeting; seconded by Alderman Noreiko. VOTE Motion carried on an 8-0 voice vote. Mayor Rey declared the motion passed, and concluded the meeting at 6:11 p.m. _____________________________________ JENNIFER JEEP JOHNSON, City Clerk Approved by City Council June 27, 2016