Illinois Valley Times

City of Ottawa Board of Fire and Police Commissioners met March 13

Here are the minutes provided by the commissioners:

Present: 

Kenneth Brown Chief Brian Bressner 

Tim McTaggart Deputy Fire Chief Mike Mills

Steve Malinsky Commissioner Tom Ganiere

Chief Brent Roalson Brianne Petersen

Captain Mike Cheatham  

Captain Kyle Booras 

Ken Brown called the meeting to order at 10:01 a.m. 

Public Comment 

None

Minutes

Moved by Steve Malinsky second by Ken Brown, to approve the minutes of the February 14, 2024, meeting as written. All ayes. Motion passed. 

Authorize Police Hiring  

Commissioner Ganiere’s request for hiring one additional Police Officer was received prior to the March meeting, due to the resignation of Officer Alex Jordan.  

Moved by Steve Malinsky, seconded by Ken Brown to make a conditional offer of employment to the next eligible candidate until a total of 1 candidate has accepted the conditional offer. All ayes. Motion passed. 

Schedule Police Promotional Testing  

The contract with LETA for the upcoming promotional testing of classifications Captain and Corporal was placed on file at the March 5, 2024, City Council meeting.  

The written exam date will be November 1, 2024, in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The Captain exam will be held at 3pm and the Corporal exam will be held at 6pm. Oral interviews will be held at the Police Department on October 25 for the Captain classification. The oral interviews for the Corporal classification will be held on October 29 and October 31, 2024, at the Police Department.  

Oral interviews for the Captain classification will be 30 minutes per candidate with a 10-minute break between each interview. Oral interviews for the Corporal classification will be 20 minutes per candidate with a 10-minute break between each interview.  

Authorize Rules Amendment 

Moved by Steve Malinsky, seconded by Ken Brown to update and publish the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners Rules and Regulations as stated in the February meeting minutes. All ayes. Motion passed.

In order to be eligible for promotion to rank of Corporal patrolmen must meet the minimum qualification of three years of active consecutive service within 

the Ottawa Police Department from the date of hire on or before applications are closed for promotion. Patrolman hired pursuant to the Lateral Transfer provisions of CHAPTER III, Section 2, shall be given credit for two (2) years of active consecutive service and will be eligible for promotion to the rank of Corporal upon successful completion of the twelve (12) month probationary period on or before applications are closed for promotion.

Fire Promotional Testing 

The Fire Department presented an initial timeline for their department’s promotional exams. The board will move forward with the written exam for the Captain and Lieutenant classifications on August 23, 2024. The written  exam will be held at City Hall in the Council Chambers at 1pm for both classifications. Oral interviews for Lieutenant will be held at the Police Department on August 8, 2024. Oral interviews for Captain will be held at the Police Department on August 9, 2024. Each interview will be 30 minutes with a 10-minute break between each interview.  

New Business 

None of the Commissioners will be attending the Illinois Fire and Police Commissioners Association Spring Seminar. 

Old Business 

None 

Correspondence 

None 

Next meeting is scheduled for April 10, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. 

Adjournment 

Moved by Steve Malinsky, second by Tim McTaggart, to adjourn at 10:43 a.m. Motion passed.

https://cityofottawa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/3-13-2024-fpc-minutes.pdf