Iowa APCO Fall Conference Business Meeting Minutes

October 29th, 2008 8:30 A.M. – 9:30 A.M.

Holiday Inn Merle Hay Road, Des Moines Iowa

 

The meeting was called to order at 8:30 A.M. by President Judy Flores of Blackhawk County. A motion was made to approve the agenda as presented by Dave Murray of the Keokuk Police Department. The motion was seconded by Billie Huffman of the Bettendorf Police Department. The agenda was approved as presented without opposition. A motion was then made to approve the minutes of the last meeting dated March 26th, 2008 from the Spring Conference by Bob Seivert of Shelby County. Marilyn Stayner of Worth County seconded the motion and the minutes were approved without opposition.

 

The next item on the agenda was the Treasurer’s report and the meeting was turned over to Eric Nevins of the Des Moines Police Department. Nevins reported that for the Operating fund for January 1st through October 28th, 2008 the beginning balance was $10,848.52. The total fund income was $24,364.41 and the total fund expense was $18,525.86. The ending fund balance was $16,687.07. The JoAnne Perkins Scholarship Fund for the same time frame had a beginning balance of $10,569.80. The total net income or interest was $267.90 and the total expenses $872.64. The ending balance for the fund was $9,965.06. A motion was made by Jill Randolph of Cedar County to approve the Treasurer’s report. Dave Murray of the Keokuk Police Department seconded Randolph’s motion and the report was approved without opposition.

 

Eric Nevins then gave a report on the Executive Council. Nevins attended the meeting in Kansas City in August. The Executive Council is made up of 55 members from each Chapter. He reported the financial picture is much improved over last years report. The finance committee and staff should be commended for their hard work on decreasing expenses and increasing revenues. There was a spirited discussion on the Strategic Governance Initiative. The Initiative requires a certain level of trust in the board to manage this change. The Bylaws and policy manual are not finalized. It does appear that the SGI would provide much needed assistance to the board of officers by including eight executive council members on the new board of directors. The minutes of the Executive Council meeting are available in their entirety on the website if anyone wants to read them.

 

President Judy Flores then moved onto the Committee reports. Wendi Hess of Woodbury County spoke for the Activities and Membership Committee and advised she had no report but wanted to thank the vendors for their support as it really helped the fund balance.

 

Historical, Julie Twedt of Hardin County – no report

 

Training, Sarah McClure of Ames Police Department – no report

 

Telecommunicator of the Year, Teresa Todd of Washington County – no report

Frequency Advisor, Rich Hester of the State Patrol – no report

 

Telecommunicator Training Board, Billie Huffman of Bettendorf Police Department – advised she has still not been to a meeting yet and that there will possibly be one in the spring.

 

Iowa E-911 Council, Sally Hall of Iowa County – see attached:

 

In 1996, the Iowa Legislature created the Iowa E911 Council.  The duties put upon the council by the legislature are to coordinate the development of and mediate disputes relating to E911 systems and service in the state.  The council shall oversee the planning implementation and operation of E911 communications services.  The council shall mediate issues relating to addressing, call routing, E911 database, E911 network, equipment and surcharge collection which arise between and among E911 service boards, telephone companies and other providers and users of the E911 communications services.

 

The authority of the Council is limited to the issues that are specifically identified in SF2470 (Chapter 34A.15) and does not preempt the authority of the utilities board to act on issues within the jurisdiction of the utilities board. 

 

The membership of the board consists of 13 voting members and 1 non-voting member from the following organizations:

 

            1.         Public Safety Communications Officers – APCO

            2.         Iowa Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association – NENA

            3.         Iowa State Sheriff’s & Deputies Association – ISSDA

            4.         Iowa Chiefs of Police & Peace Officers Association – ICPPO

            5.         Iowa Association of Professional Firefighters – IAPFF

            6.         Iowa Firefighters Association – IFA

            7.         Iowa Emergency Managers Association – IEMA

            8.         Iowa Department of Public Safety – IDPS

            9.         Iowa Emergency Medical Services Association – IEMSA

            10.       Iowa Telephone Association <15,000

            11.       Iowa Telephone Association >15,000

            12.       Cellular Providers

            13.       Personal Communications Services Providers – PCS

            14.       Auditor of the State, Ex-Officio member

 

Each organization appoints a primary and alternate representative to vote on issues brought before the council.  Meetings are held every other month on the third Wednesday.  January, March, November meetings are usually held at the Iowa State Patrol Headquarters, Post 1 in Des Moines starting at 10:00 a.m.  May, July and September meetings are held in areas across the state on Thursday evenings starting at 7:00 p.m.

 

Some of the issues brought before the council this past year were

 

1.         State standardized form for all ANI/ALI, NRF and Misroutes

·   Which has now been developed

2.         PSAP Guidelines for Taking Wireless 911 Calls

·   Have been updated and will continue to be updated as technology changes

3.         Standards for Iowa PBX 911 and Private Switch Automatic Location Identification (PS/ALI) requirements

4.         Standard process for MSAG change notification

5.         Wireless accuracy

6.         Legislative issues

7.         Interoperability

8.         Next Generation 911 – IP 911 Networking

9.         Interstate Interconnect for wireless 911 calls

10.       Wireless Carryover Fund Grants

11.       VoIP surcharge collection

 

The council’s intend is to be a liaison between the local and state levels disseminating information in this every changing technology world.

 

The council works closely with the State E911 Program Manager’s office.  Also the council is an integral part of the spring and fall conferences.

 

Information on meeting dates, agendas and minutes can be found on the Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management website www.iowahomelandsecurity.org under About Us/Securing Communities/E911 and on the Iowa NENA website www.iowanena.org.

 

Legislative, Bob Seivert of Shelby County – reported that it has been a quiet year with nothing pending for the ISSDA, 911, or Emergency Management. Jailers who are dispatchers did get the enhanced IPERS benefit. This creates an inequitable situation among dispatchers across the state. We would need to contact the IPERS benefit advisory committee, initiate new legislature, and get lobbyist behind the issue. This is not an IPERS year – the next will be 2010. We also need to watch for Next Generation 911 and Interoperability legislation in the future. The wireline surcharge is declining and with the technology for text and video 911 calls coming they will be looking for ways to fund these upgrades to the existing technologies we all have.

 

Strategic Planning, Randy Thompson/Andrea Schaffer of Pottawattamie County – no report

 

Corporate Advisory, Stacey Gross of GeoComm – no report

 

First Responder Advisory, Randy Thompson of Pottawattamie County – no report

 

Constitution & By-Laws, Chris Moore of Pottawattamie County – no report

JoAnne Perkins Scholarship, Jeanie Carroll of Allamakee County – no report but the winners of the conference scholarship were acknowledged and a picture taken.

 

The next item on the agenda was for new business. Wendi Hess stated she wanted to speak further on the IPERS issue. Hess felt the telecommunicators should be getting the enhanced benefits and made a motion to investigate the opportunities and cost of hiring a lobbyist. Jill Randolph of Cedar County seconded the motion. John Gohr of the Charles City Police Department asked about forming a sub-committee on the issue. Hess stated that she and Bob Seivert will start working on that and bring it back to the Spring Conference. Marsha Southwick of O’Brien County asked about the benefits of the enhanced IPERS. Seivert advised the biggest benefit is early retirement. There was further discussion and it was decided that information needed to be put out there for the Chapter to see on the website. A show of hands was asked for those in the audience who would be willing to pay more in for better benefits. The show of hands showed that most would. The motion to pursue a lobbyist carried without opposition.

 

The final item on the agenda was the election of officers. President Judy Flores stated it had been an honor to serve the Chapter but she would not be seeking re-election. Wendi Hess also advised she would not be seeking re-election for office as she is very busy serving on the Interoperability Board. President Flores asked for nominations from the floor. Bob Seivert made a motion to unanimously approve the nominations as received by the nominating committee (Bob Seivert and Dave Murray) Eric Nevins – Treasurer, Cara Sorrells of Washington County – Secretary, Chris Moore – Vice-President, and Lorrie Lacina of Muscom – President. Michele Bott of Clinton County seconded the motion. The motion carried without opposition. Judy Flores will remain on the executive board in the capacity of Past President.

 

Motion was made to adjourn at 9:11 A.M. by Wendi Hess and seconded by Marilyn Stayner. The meeting was adjourned and the daily training was to being after a short break.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Cara L. Sorrells, Iowa APCO Secretary

Washington County Communications