POPAI Board Meeting Minutes for 10/12/2022
Troy Hatfield called the meeting to order.
Attending:
- Troy Hatfield, President
- Susan Bentley, Vice-President
- Andria Geigle, Treasurer
- Cherie Wood
- Robert Schuster, District 1 Rep
- Jack Odle, District 2 Rep
- Dustin DeLong, District 3 Rep
- Mike Small, District 4 Rep
- Lindsey Villalpando, District 6 Rep
- Mignon Ware
- Heather Malone
- Adam McQueen, Past President
- Anthony Williams, Training Coordinator
- Karen Oeding, Membership and Website Administrator
- C.J. Miller
Secretary's Report
Secretary’s report was presented. Bob Schuster noted that he was not present at the September meeting and Karen indicated she will make the change to the minutes. Mike Small made a motion to accept the minutes with the change and Andria Geigle seconded. Approved.
Treasurer's Report
Checking balance as of September 30, 2022 was reported as $99,519.48 and savings balance was $17,083.57. Susan Bentley made a motion to approve the treasurers report and Lindsey Villalpando seconded. Approved.
Andria Geigle reported that since she took over as Treasurer, it was explained to her that there has been a discrepancy with our Quicken balance and checking account balance that has dated back to 2012. Andria requested to be able to purchase updated Quicken software (most recent version) and start using the software at the beginning of 2023 using the corrected amounts that align with our checking account. She also requested that we have another audit conducted since our last audit was in 2016. Susan Bentley made a motion to allow the Treasurer to purchase updated Quicken software and begin using it January 1 starting with Board activities as of January 1, 2023 and inquire and pay for an audit of financial activities from 2016-2022. Dustin DeLong seconded. Approved.
Andria Geigle made a motion to add the President (Troy Hatfield) as an authorized person to the checking and savings account at PNC Bank as a backup. Mike Small seconded and this motion was approved by the board.
Membership
As of October 6, 2022 our memberships totals are 1,143 Total Current; 1,010 POs; 30 Corporate; 104 Other.
Karen Oeding reported that a department made a request to transfer a 2023 membership from a probation officer who left the department in 2022. The department wanted to substitute that person with their replacement for 2023. This triggered discussion by the board as to whether there is a need to change the bylaws that state memberships belong to an individual (Article V, Part E). Other questions that came up include what happens if the department requests their money back and is a membership refundable? This led to whether we should continue allowing departments to pay ahead for memberships with the department assuming the risk of someone leaving before the new year begins? The item will be tabled to the next meeting and Karen will draft language she would like to put on the website and on the invoice for the board to consider.
Lindsey Villalpando reported there were two chief probation officers who contacted us to say they had a combined total of three probation officers we may have missed for the 25 year awards. Lindsey sent one cup and certificate to the person in Noble County and the other two will be given with the 2023 recipients.
Education
Troy Hatfield reported he is still working on the idea of a joint meeting/training with IACCAC in 2023 and will be setting up a meeting with IACCAC’s new president in November.
Anthony Williams sent the board information from surveys after the fall conference along with other information on costs and activities. Discussion was held. Adam McQueen mentioned that there was an incident at the Total Court Services sponsored event at the local bar that likely resulted in disciplinary action against a probation officer in one department. He cautioned the board about continuing to advertise such an event in the future due to possible problems that may occur. The board also discussed the issue with forum postings and pictures that were posted on the Whova app, which were also problematic. Unfortunately, Anthony investigated whether that function could be removed from the Whova app and it cannot, which will require us to closely monitor posts for appropriate content. Jack Odle suggested that we add a code of conduct to our materials that are sent out advertising our conferences and see if we can add it to the Whova app. Board discussion indicated a great deal of support for this suggestion.
Anthony Williams also reported that when investigating options to renew our contract with French Lick, he learned that our normal dates after Labor Day were not available for 2023, but they are available for 2024 and 2025. Room rates will also increase by $20 for attendees. After some discussion about other possible locations for the fall conference, Andria Geigle made a motion to sign a contract with French Lick for September 19-24, 2023 and our normal after Labor Day dates in 2024 and 2025. Jack Odle seconded and the board approved the motion.
Discussion was held about the 2023 Management Institute. Anthony Williams would like to request technical assistance from the National Institute of Corrections on peer support and employee retention and the board supported this idea. Tentative dates for the Chief Probation Officer Orientation and Management Institute are March 22-24, 2023 for the Drury Inn in Indianapolis.
Chief's Executive Committee
No report.
Juvenile Delinquency Alternative Initiative (JDAI) Update
No report.
Probation Officer Advisory Board Update
No report. Last meeting was postponed to November 15, 2022.
Election
Mike Small reported that we have vacancies for Secretary, District 8, and two At-Large Positions. All those who applied for positions on the board exited the meeting during discussion and voting.
Secretary – Cherie Epley (Vanderburgh County) and Brittany Stodghill (Hendricks County) — Susan Bentley stated that she will abstain from voting due to having an employee as a candidate for this position. Discussion held by the board. Bob Schuster made a motion to appoint Cherie Epley as Treasurer and Andria Geigle seconded. Approved.
District 8 – Mignon Ware (Vanderburgh County) and Jennifer Lampert (Dubois County) — Discussion held by the board and a motion was made but later withdrawn. Bob Schuster made a motion to appoint Mignon Ware as District 8 Representative and Dustin DeLong seconded. Approved.
At-large positions had the following applicants: Jennifer Lampert (Dubois County), Brittney Stodghill (Hendricks County), Heather Malone (Huntington County), Jason Fry (Wabash County), Stephanie Helmer (Howard County), and Stacie Innie (Bartholomew County).
The board decided to vote on the at-large position that will be up for election in even numbered years. Bob Schuster made a motion to appoint Heather Malone as the At-Large (Even) Representative and Jack Odle seconded. Approved.
After a great deal of discussion, Adam McQueen made a motion to appoint Brittany Stodghill as the At-Large (Odd) Representative and Bob Schuster seconded. Motion failed. Mike Small made a motion to appoint Jennifer Lampert as the At-Large (Odd) Representative and Dustin DeLong seconded. Approved.
Awards and Recognition
No report – Bob said he would welcome training someone to take over as chair.
Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council (JRAC)
Next meeting set for October 28th for both the reports workgroup and full JRAC.
Legislation
No update.
Technology
Karen Oeding reported that she would like the board to alert her to any website features they may come across that may be useful for POPAI’s website as she is working toward making improvements to our site. Karen also reported that she is receiving plenty of articles to post each week, but wanted to remind the board to keep sending them as she can pre-post articles in advance to continue to provide information to our membership.
Karen reviewed the board calendar of activities and reminded that we have a few items to be paid (APPA membership, board insurance) and the Secretary needs to submit new forms to Indiana to keep our executive board changes up to date.
Bylaws & Strategic Plan Ad Hoc Committee
No update.
Race & Gender Fairness Commission
No update.
Budget Ad Hoc Committee
No update.
Old Business
Troy Hatfield discussed the probation officer salary schedule proposal and drafted an addendum to the proposal to send to the Probation Committee of the Judicial Conference prior to their meeting on October 14, 2022. Discussion was held and a suggestion was made to add a paragraph on a public safety local income tax as another method for funding salaries. Troy indicated he would add this information. Andria Geigle made a motion to approve the addendum and Dustin DeLong seconded. Approved.
Adam McQueen stated that the Jail Management System Workgroup was provided with a demo version of the application so far and they will be piloting it soon.
New Business
Troy Hatfield asked that board members email him any committee assignment requests. He also stated that he will draft a final quarterly letter for 2022.
The board discussed sending a board member to one of the APPA regional winter training institutes. It was decided that whomever is chosen can pick their location from the five and interested members need to send their name to Andria Geigle by October 28th to be entered into the drawing that will be completed on Monday, October 31, 2022. POPAI will pay for airfare, registration, and hotel. The board member will be responsible for any remaining costs of attending.
Next Meeting
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 10:30a EST in Hamilton County and via Zoom.