Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole met June 27

By Kristine Gonzales-Abella

Oct 27, 2022

Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole met June 27.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

CALL TO ORDER

President Troy Parlier called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Board Members Physically Present: President Troy Parlier; Trustees Tom Guist, James Marter II (attended at 6:06 p.m.), Terry Olson, Jennifer Jones Sinnott, and Brian Thomas.

Board Members Absent: Trustee Kit Kuhrt

Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Andrea Lamberg, Finance Director; Tina Touchette, Village Clerk; Jason Bastin, Police Commander; Jennifer Hughes, Public Works Director; Rod Zenner, Community Development Services Director; Bridget Bittman, Community Engagement Manager- Marketing; Kevin Leighty, Economic Development Director; Joe Renzetti, IT/GIS Director; Annie Robey, Community Relations Intern; Jordan Salzman, Law Clerk; and Karl Ottosen, Village Attorney.

PUBLIC FORUM

Public Forum was opened at 6:03 p.m. There was no one who requested to speak. The public forum was closed at 6:03 p.m.

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

G.1 988 and Community Emergency Services and Support Act (CESSA) Overview

Commander Bastin addressed the Board regarding 988 emergency services. In August of 2021, the Community Emergency Services and Support Act (CESSA) was passed by Illinois legislators. CESSA provides requirements for Illinois to adopt the 988-telephone number to serve as the State number to aid individuals experiencing mental health crisis. The 988-hotline is also a national three-digit dialing code for calls from individuals experiencing mental health crisis throughout the nation. Currently, police and EMS are generally dispatched for 911 calls for service regarding individuals experiencing mental health crises. In addition to the 988 implementation, the CESSA also includes provisions for the creation of an additional type of first responder identified as a Mobile Crisis Response Team which will work directly with 911 and 988 call centers in order to dispatch the calls to assist with individuals in mental health crisis. The new model of first responders is planned to be developed with implementation beginning January 1, 2023.

While the 988-hotline implementation will not cause significant changes in police operations, the implementation of the Mobile Crisis Response Team will have significant implications in delivery of police services as well as impact operations at 911 centers. The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) has been tasked with overseeing the implementation of CESSA which includes the 988-hotline and the roll out of the Mobile Crisis Response Teams. KenCom and the agencies they serve, including the Oswego Police Department, have been monitoring the planning phases of CESSA and have participated in numerous online meetings hosted by IDHS regarding the implementation of the new services.

Board and staff discussion focused on end result will be a new kind of dispatcher; replaces suicide hotline; don’t have mobile response team members and dispatchers trained yet; federal funding; 11 regional advisory boards; Kendall will be split into two regions; could mean a dual response to the community; program is a good thing; 70% of calls handled by the non-emergency response teams; practice and protocols not in place yet; concerns about interaction with uniform officer and team; when the program might be on track; not sure if it will be implemented by January 1, 2023; local PD & FD will work with them; will depend on the call; whether more manpower will be needed; purpose is to alleviate the PD and paramedics response, but could still get called if 911 services are needed; will also depend on funding; 70 mobile units; where mobile units will be; will depend on where you live; Oswego’s mobile unit possibly based in Aurora; 988 Center based in Bloomington, IL; creating a new type of first responder for mental health non-emergency crisis where the individual would not need to be restrained; Crisis Members could still want a paramedic or officer; subjective of the severity; dispatch will be trained on these types of calls; would not be partnered with mental health centers; stakeholders will be the health departments, paramedics and police officers; private business would not be stakeholders; Crisis Members will not have offices at police departments or use of vehicles; when this hotline was originated and why the elevated urgency; it is a national initiative; has been a push for a while; each state will be responsible for implementing; trying to get federal grants; Illinois signed into law last year; estimated number of mental health calls last year; it’s a significant number of calls; whether there will be a specific code call out; required to track the calls; certain ways they need to track the calls and report them to the state. Staff will report back on the number of calls last year and so far this year. There was no further discussion.

CLOSED SESSION

A motion was made by Trustee Marter II and seconded by Trustee Olson to enter Closed Session for the purposes of discussing the following:

• Sale, Lease, and/or Acquisition of Property [5 ILCS 120/2(c)(5) & (6)]

Aye: Tom Guist James Marter II

Terry Olson Jennifer Jones Sinnott

Brian Thomas

Nay: None

Absent: Kit Kuhrt

The motion was declared carried by a roll call vote with five (5) aye votes and zero (0) nay votes.

The Board adjourned to Closed Session at 6:16 p.m.

The Board returned to open session at 6:46 p.m. A roll call vote was taken. All attending Board members were physically present for the roll call.

ADJOURNMENT