Jul 28, 2025 Fire Police Municipal Board Meeting

[00:00:03]

I CALLED THIS MEETING OF THE MUNICIPAL FIRE AND POLICE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD TO ORDER.

CAN WE HAVE A ROLL CALL MADAM SECRETARY? YES, SIR.

[1. Roll Call ]

PRESENT. MR. BRADLEY RICKS. PRESENT. DR. PRESS ROBINSON.

PRESENT. ATTORNEY JOSHUA NEUVILLE. PRESENT. YOU HAVE A QUORUM.

THANK YOU. THIS IS THE PART OF OUR MEETING WHERE WE ASK FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY ITEM ON THE AGENDA.

SO ANYONE THAT WISHES TO SPEAK MAY DO SO AT THIS POINT.

PLEASE MAKE SURE THERE'S A BUTTON ON THE BASE TO YOUR LEFT OF THE BASE OF THE MICROPHONE.

NO, NO, NO, THE MICROPHONE IS. ON THE MICROPHONE ITSELF. YES, AND GIVE US YOUR NAME AND ALL THAT.

GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS JANICE WILLARD. I'M HERE REPRESENTING MYSELF, MY FELLOW COWORKERS.

I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE EMS ASSOCIATION. AND THERE IS AN AGENDA ITEM THAT IS TO CHANGE THE FIRE CHIEFS JOB DESCRIPTION. TO GIVE HIM SOLE APPOINTING AUTHORITY OVER EMS. AND WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT DEFERRED OR STRICKEN FROM THE RECORD AND NOT DISCUSSED AT THIS TIME.

IT HAS BEEN MY UNDERSTANDING FROM OUR DIRECTOR THAT THIS WAS SET IN MOTION.

BUT IT HAS TO BE INTRODUCED. WHATEVER. SO WE'RE ASKING THAT IT BE REMOVED AT THIS TIME.

WE DON'T FEEL THAT THERE'S ENOUGH INFORMATION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS.

AND I HAVE OTHER INFORMATION, IF YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED, BUT IT'S OUR REQUEST THAT WE HAVE THAT REMOVED AT THIS TIME.

SO GENERALLY DURING A PUBLIC COMMENT, WE WOULD JUST ACCEPT YOUR COMMENTS.

AND CERTAINLY WHEN THAT AGENDA ITEM COMES UP, WE'LL CONSIDER IT OR EVEN WHEN WE'RE APPROVING THE AGENDA.

BUT NORMALLY THE BOARD DOESN'T RESPOND DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT CERTAINLY APPRECIATE IT.

OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? AT THE BASE OF THE MICROPHONE.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE BEEN TO A COUNCIL MEETING. SO I'M THE RETIRED DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.

I'VE WORKED IN PUBLIC SAFETY FOR 34 YEARS. I WAS ALSO THE SECRETARY OF THE FIRE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE SUPPORT BOARD FOR OUR PROTECTION DISTRICT SIX. FOR OVER A DECADE, I'M AGAINST CHANGING THE CLASSIFICATION PLANS FOR THE FIRE CHIEF TO BE THE ADMINISTRATOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, TO BE OVER THE BUDGET OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.

THIS IS WRONG AND SHOULDN'T BE DONE. CLASSIFICATION PLANS SHOULDN'T BE CHANGED LIKE THAT.

AND IN FACT AS IT FURTHER GOES DOWN THE LINE, WHAT WOULD THE OTHER FIRE CHIEFS THAT COME AFTER HIM DO WITH THAT MONEY? A LOT OF IT'S TAXPAYERS MONEY, AND A LOT OF IT'S MONEY THAT'S MADE BY EMS. EMS MAKES ITS OWN MONEY, ITS OWN REVENUES, AND WE SAVE THE TAXPAYERS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BY MAKING IT TO WHERE THEY'RE TRANSPORTED BY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.

THEY DO NOT RECEIVE A BILL. THEY'RE ONLY BILLED BY THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY.

IF YOU LIVE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, IF YOU'RE A CITIZEN OF THIS PARISH.

IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE THIS PARISH, YOU WILL RECEIVE A BILL IN EXCESS OF WHICH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY DOES NOT PAY.

SO I STAND AGAINST THIS AS THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.

COULD YOU PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE. MY NAME IS MICHAEL DENICOLA.

D.E.N I.C.O.L.A. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU, MR. DENICOLA. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? AND I GUESS WHAT I WOULD SAY IF ALL OF THE PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE ABOUT THE AGENDA ITEM, WE ARE HAVING A PUBLIC HEARING. SO, I MEAN, IT MIGHT BE BETTER TO DO ALL THAT STUFF WHEN IT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING WE CAN ENGAGE AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME. CERTAINLY, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO DO IT AT THIS POINT TOO.

BUT THE BOARD WON'T REALLY INTERACT AT THIS PARTICULAR STAGE.

BUT TO BE ASSURED THAT ALL OF THIS IS BEING RECORDED.

SO YOUR COMMENTS WILL BE ON THE RECORD. MY NAME IS AMANDA HARRIS, AND I'M HERE AS A CONCERNED CITIZEN IN THE

[00:05:02]

I DO BELIEVE IT IS A DETRIMENT TO THE CITIZENS OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.

YOU HAVE A SOLE FIRE CHIEF BE IN CHARGE OF ANY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE AND BE THE SOLE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THAT PLAN.

40 YEARS AGO, WHENEVER EMS WAS STRUCTURED, IT WAS ACTUALLY REVOLUTIONARY AT THE TIME.

THE WAY IT HAS BEEN STRUCTURED, MANY CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY HAVE MODELED IT.

MANY OF YOUR LARGER, OVER 300,000 POPULATION COMMUNITIES HAVE ALL GONE TO A PARISH OR CENTRALIZED EMS SYSTEM AND DEPARTED FROM THE OLD EMS AND FIRE BEING COMBINED.

OF COURSE, THE PLACES WHERE EMS AND FIRE ARE COMBINED ARE IN BURROWS AND SECTIONS, AN AREA WHERE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS WIDELY USED.

SO IN THAT RESPECT, BATON ROUGE DOESN'T FALL IN THE CATEGORY OF 24/7 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.

THEREFORE, IT WOULD BE A STEP BACKWARDS FOR US TO CONSIDER EVEN PUTTING ANYBODY SOLELY IN CHARGE OF ONE OR THE OTHER. IT SHOULD BE A CITY CONTROLLER IN THE VERY LEAST, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MERGE BUDGETS.

SO MUCH NEEDS TO BE DONE. MUCH WORK NEEDS TO HAPPEN BEFORE WE EVER CONSIDER CHANGING A JOB DESCRIPTION.

THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ANY OTHER COMMENTS? IF NOT, THEN WE'LL MOVE ON. JUST UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR COMMENTS ARE ALL IN THE RECORD BECAUSE WE ARE RECORDING, AND WE WILL DEAL WITH THE ITEM WHEN WE GET TO IT ON THE AGENDA.

[2. Consider Motion to Approve Agenda.]

MR. CHAIR, I SO MOVE. MOVE BY MR. NEWVILLE. WE HAVE A SECOND? I SECOND. SECOND BY MR. [INAUDIBLE]. CORRECT? ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE? AYE. AYE. OPPOSED IS NAY.

THE AGENDA IS ADOPTED. ITEM 3. YOU SET A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM JUNE 23RD,

[ 3. Consider Motion to Approve Minutes from: June 23, 2025, meeting.]

DO I HAVE A SECOND? I SECOND, SECONDED BY MR. LEMING. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE.

AYE. OPPOSED SAYS NAY. MOTION CARRIES. CONSIDER A MOTION TO APPROVE OR REJECT PERSONNEL ACTION FORMS IN

[4. Consider Motion to Approve or Reject Personnel Action Forms in the Baton Rouge Fire and Police Departments.]

NOT THAT I KNOW OF RIGHT NOW. OKAY. IN THAT CASE, THEN LET'S HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE ALL PERSONNEL CHANGES.

I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL ACTION FORMS FOR BATON ROUGE FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENT.

MOVE BY MR. LEMING. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND BY MR. RICKS. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED NAY.

THE MOTION IS APPROVED. CONSIDER A MOTION TO REVIEW AND ACCEPT TEST RESULTS FOR POLICE LIEUTENANT,

[5. Consider Motion to Review/ Accept Test Results for: • Police Lieutenant • Assistant Hazardous Materials Chief • Police Captain]

CAPTAIN. OH. I'M SORRY. POLICE CAPTAIN. ARE THERE ANY REASON THAT WE SHOULD NOT DO THIS? IF NOT, LET'S HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THESE.

WHAT ARE WE DOING? ACCEPTING TEST RESULTS. WE NEED TO OPEN THEM UP.

AND. YEAH, I WILL. I THINK I GOT SOMETHING THAT WILL DO THAT AT THIS TIME.

YOU PREPARED THIS? WE HOPE SO.

IT'S THE SECOND ONE IT'S ALWAYS THE HARDEST. WHEN THEY TAKE AND THEY TAKE.

[00:10:04]

I'M GOING TO LET BOARD MEMBERS TAKE A LOOK AT THESE.

THERE SHOULD BE THREE SEPARATE SETS. POLICE LIEUTENANT, POLICE CAPTAIN AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CHIEF.

YEAH.

WE'RE JUST DECIPHERING PAST VERSES [INAUDIBLE], AS SOON AS WE GET THAT WILL MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT.

SO, MR. CHAIR, ON THE POLICE LIEUTENANT, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE 21 THAT PASSED AND FIVE NO SHOWS. IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE THREE THAT DID NOT PASS.

OKAY. I'M SORRY. THAT'S INCORRECT.

18 WHO PASSED. 18 TO PASS.

NOW WE GET TO THE NEXT PART HERE.

THE POLICE CAPTAIN LOOKS LIKE WE HAD ONE, TWO.

THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN PASSED AND TWO THAT DID NOT SHOW UP.

AND THEN FOR ASSISTANT HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CHIEF, WE HAD ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE PASSED AND ONE DID NOT SHOW UP.

OKAY. THANK YOU SIR. SO WHAT WE HAVE THEN BOARD MEMBERS, OF POLICE LIEUTENANT, 18 PASSED, 5 NO SHOWS, AND 3 NOT PASSED. ASSISTANT HAZARDOUS MATERIAL CHIEF, 5 PASSED, 1 NO SHOW.

[00:15:08]

A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE TEST RESULTS FOR POLICE LIEUTENANT, ASSISTANT HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CHIEF AND POLICE CAPTAIN.

I HAVE A MOTION BY MR. RICKS. I HAVE A SECOND? I SECOND. SECOND BY MR. LEMING. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED NAY. THE MOTION IS ADOPTED.

[6. Consider Motion to Approve or Reject Applications in the Baton Rouge Fire Department for: • Fire Captain • Fire Equipment Operator • District Fire Chief • Chief of Special Services • Deputy Fire Chief]

THEY'VE BEEN REVIEWED. I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE APPLICATIONS FOR THE BATON ROUGE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

A MOTION BY MR. LEMING. DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.

SECONDED BY MR. RICKS. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE. OPPOSED SAYS NAY. THE APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED.

ITEM 7. CONSIDER A MOTION TO APPROVE OR REJECT APPLICATIONS IN THE BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT APPOINTMENT FOR POLICE CRIMINAL

[7. Consider Motion to Approve or Reject Applications in the Baton Rouge Police Department for: • Police Criminal Information Specialist I • Police Cadet • Police Fingerprint Technician II 8.]

DID WE GET THOSE REVIEWED? NINE TIMES. OKAY, IN THAT CASE, THEN MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THOSE APPLICATIONS. BEFORE, I SPOKE TO MR. THOMAS THIS MORNING.

HE SAID ONE WAS TURNED IN LATE, I BELIEVE. OKAY.

DO WE HAVE A RECORD OF THAT? MISS HARRIS. DID HE TELL US THE NAME OF THE PERSON? HE DID NOT. HE DID NOT. LET'S SEE WHAT WE HAVE.

YEAH. YEAH. WHEN WAS THE DEADLINE AND WHEN DID HE TURN IT DOWN? DO WE KNOW? ONE DAY. YES. SO WHAT'S THE PLEASURE, BOY? DO WE DENY THAT ONE? YEAH. HE MISSED THE DEADLINE. OKAY. SO MAY I HAVE A MOTION, THEN EXCLUDING THAT ONE AND APPROVAL FOR THE OTHERS I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO EXCLUDE THAT ONE AND REJECTED AND APPROVED ALL THE APPLICATION.

OKAY. DO I HAVE A SECOND FOR THAT MOTION? I'LL SECOND.

SECONDED BY MR. LEMING. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.

AYE. OPPOSED SAYS NAY. THE MOTION IS APPROVED.

[8. Conduct Public Hearing to Consider Adoption of Amendments to the Classification Plan for Fire Chief.]

AND WHO'S HERE TO SPEAK TO THAT? SO I GUESS WHAT I'LL SAY BEFORE HE GETS STARTED AS HE APPROACHES, THIS MATTER WAS ADDED TO OUR AGENDA LAST MEETING AND IT WAS POSTED FOR 30 DAYS.

IS THAT CORRECT? IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW? YES.

FOR MORE THAN 30 DAYS. ALL RIGHT, AND I BELIEVE I'M LOOKING AT THE NOTICE NOW.

IT HAS THE UPDATED I GUESS, JOB SPECIFICATIONS OR CLASSIFICATION PLAN, I SHOULD SAY.

SO THERE WAS A REQUEST TO DEFER THIS. I GUESS FIRST WE NEED TO TAKE THAT UP.

I DON'T SEE A REASON TO DEFER THIS IF EVERYTHING WAS POSTED CORRECTLY AND WHATNOT.

I MEAN, THAT'S ALL THAT THE LAW REQUIRES. SO I WOULD ACTUALLY RECOMMEND THAT WE MOVE FORWARD.

BUT I DID WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ON THE RECORD.

OKAY. YES, SIR. GOOD MORNING SIR. GOOD MORNING, LON VICKNAIR.

WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE THE ADMINISTRATION'S REQUESTING THAT WE DEFER THIS FOR 30 DAYS.

AND DO WE HAVE A STATED REASON FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OR.

TO ALLOW FOR SOME MORE COMMUNICATION? FAIR ENOUGH.

AND I'M ASSUMING THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS GOING WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. ALL RIGHT, WELL, GOOD DEAL.

OKAY. BOARD WHAT'S YOUR PLEASURE? YES. A MOTION TO DELAY THIS MATTER FOR 30 DAYS.

[00:20:07]

I'LL SECOND. SECOND BY MR. NEUVILLE. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.

AYE. OPPOSED SAYS NAY. THE PUBLIC HEARING IS DELAYED FOR 30 DAYS.

THANK YOU. GENERAL ITEM 9. CONSIDER A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.

I MOTION. I HAVE A MOTION BY MR. NEUVILLE. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. SECOND BY MR. RICKS. THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.