DeKalb Times

DeKalb County Emergency Telephone System Board met Nov. 3.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

1. CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Leverton called the meeting to order at 3:00pm.

a. Board Members Present:

Bianchi, Frazier, Grandgeorge, Hanson, Polarek, McAllister, and Leverton.

b. Board Members Absent:

McMaster, Plote, and Redel.

c. Guests Present:

Sheriff Sullivan and Lt. Van Bomar, DeKalb County Sheriff; Sean Woyna, DeKalb Police Department.

d. Also Present:

Becky Springer, DeKalb County Treasurer; Heather Butler, 9-1-1 Coordinator, Glenna Johnson, Former 9-1-1 Coordinator.

2. Agenda

a. Leverton asked for any amendments to the agenda. A motion was made by Polarek and seconded by Bianchi to approve the agenda. The motion passed.

3. General Meeting Minutes:

a. A motion to approve the minutes of the October 6, 2021, meeting was made by Bianchi and seconded by Frazier. The motion passed.

4. Public Comment- None

5. Treasurer’s Report

a. Monthly Treasurer’s Report

i. Springer presented her report, Hanson questioned when we should make a transfer from General to Capital. Leverton advised we can discuss this during budget discussion. A motion to approve the October report was made by Polarek and seconded by Grandgeorge. The motion passed.

b. Approval of Bills

Bills Paid in November 2021

Vendor Invoice Amount

Frontier $61.91

First National Bank $1,530.42

PowerPhone $79.00

Heather Butler $275.24

Evans Consoles Inc. $5,135.00

Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb $200.00

A motion to pay the November bills was made by Hanson and seconded by McAllister. Roll call vote was taken; Bianchi – Y, Frazier – Y, Grandgeorge – Y, Hanson – Y, Polarek – Y, McAllister – Y, Leverton – Y. The motion passed.

6. Budget Discussion –

a. Leverton advised the subcommittee had a meeting yesterday, will meet again later in November with Treasurer to have it ready for approval at December meeting.

b. Discussed the need to move funds from General to Capital due to grants received and cost of NG being less.

c. Leverton reviewed a few changes to budget items for the board to start thinking about before full approval.

d. Also discussed earmarking funds for technology advancements coming in the future and replacements.

e. Hanson mentioned the possibility of moving the coordinator office, would like to budget for this possibility and possible remodel of an office.

7. Radio report –

a. Sheriff Sullivan advised there are still some issues in DeKalb and Genoa which has been escalated to the CEO of EFJ and a solution is to be presented by next week.

b. Polarek mentioned some issues on the VHF side in last 2 weeks, Sullivan to look into.

c. Sullivan advised the I Am Responding software they use now has a capability to transmit the voice of the page through the app, they will be implementing this. Shabbona fire is the only department not on this application.

8. Grant Status

a. Butler advised we received the 1st qtr reimbursement. Remainder will be received in 2022.

b. FY23 Notice of funding was sent out this week, will be speaking with the state on what we can apply for with the ongoing radio project.

8. NG911 Update

a. Butler advised we are still progressing towards phase 2 in early December.

b. NINGA is working with Solacom to resolve some issues. Additional meeting scheduled this month regarding this, Solacom will be sending representation to meet with NINGA later this month.

c. Leverton noted the state has signed a contact with AT&T for their NG project. Could affect our funding, they have announced an 18-month project timeline.

9. Legislation –

a. Butler advised SAB meeting have been cancelled recently, Governor has not reappointed members to the board.

b. Attended Legislative update session while at IPSTA conference. Where they went over the Community Emergency Services Support Act (CESSA), lots to implement on this act, they believe it will be brought up in Spring session for a date extension. They also went over the AFR report changes, additional information to be reported to the state on financial side. Also reviewed the ESTA requirements for TC training and what that will look like. Basic level training but all much be certified and completed by July 2024. Butler advised she will be watching for this roll out and what it will entail.

c. Leverton advised he appreciated the legislation updated he attended at IPSTA with John Kelly.

10. Participating Agency Request – None

11. Coordinator’s Report –

a. Butler advised she successfully passed her ENP exam.

b. Attended IPSTA and sat in several cybersecurity sessions along with the legislation sessions, was also on the volunteer committee.

12. Old Business

a. Leverton advised he had hoped to have Chief Byrd appointed for this meeting. Due to the county network being down this last month he did not make it on the agenda for the county board.

b. Also advised we will have new board members due to terms expiring next year. Sheriff Sullivan will be recommending for his appointments Glenna Johnson, Jennie Willis, and Lt. Van Bomar.

c. Sheriff Sullivan thanked all the board members for the service on the board over the years.

13. New Business- Frazier questioned whether we have asked straight forward if portables and pagers are an allowable expense according to the state. Coordinator Butler with the help of former Coordinator Johnson explained what has been said by the 9-1-1 State Administrator, past discussions by the SAB, and how the FCC report affects what is allowable. We hope to have clearer answers in the future, need SAB meetings to happen for these issues to be discussed.

2. ADJOURNMENT- Polarek moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Bianchi. The motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 3:38pm.

https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/min21-e911nov.pdf