POPAI Board Meeting Minutes for 12/11/2024
The meeting was called to order at 10:30am by Angela Morris, President.
Attending:
- Angela Morris, President
- Lindsey Villalpando, Vice-President
- Andria Geigle, Treasurer
- Robert Schuster, District 1 Rep
- Jack Odle, District 2 Rep
- Stephanie Cole, District 3 Rep
- Susan Bentley, District 4 Rep
- Josh Herman, District 5 Rep
- Albert Arnold, District 6 Rep
- Rupert Strawbridge, District 7 Rep
- Jennifer Lampert, District 8 Rep
- Mignon Ware, At-Large #1
- Chad Boruff, At-Large #2
- Troy Hatfield, Past President
- Adam McQueen, POPAI Rep to POAB
- Ryan Hull, POAB Rep to POPAI
- Greg Werich, Chief Exec Committee
- Shannon Chambers, Training Coordinator
- Karen Oeding, Membership and Website Administrator
- Cherie Epley
Secretary's Report
Susan Bentley moved to accept the Secretary’s Report. Lindsey Villalpando seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carried unanimously.
Treasurer's Report
Andria Geigle provided the November Treasurer’s Report to the Board. Balances were as follows:
Checking – $21, 290.73
Savings – $67, 778.13
CD investment – $30,000
Andria provide an update on 11/19/2024 via email to the Board with the following information: I met with PNC bank this week and we were able to get an approval for 3.75% APY on a variable basis for our money market (savings account). Based on this interest change, I transferred $50,000 from the checking account to the savings account.
Troy Hatfield, Past President was removed from and Angela Morris, President was added to the banking paperwork.
Andria reported that the CD investment will mature in January 2025.
No update on IRS status.
Jennifer Lampert moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Jack Odle seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carried unanimously.
Technology
Karen provided the board with an update that the shift from weekly to monthly emails was well received, and had a 64% open rate. Important calendar items and top pages on the website were provided. In addition, the following goals were established for 2025:
Organize Chair/Co-Chairs documents and time lines into an online folder for easy access this year and in the future.
Refine membership database
Use the calendar to proactively schedule tasks
Observe tasks to document, optimize, and automate
Next email push will be New Year’s Eve. The Board was encouraged to send articles of interest by December 15, 2024 to Anthony for publication.
Membership
Current membership is 1194. The breakdown is as follows:
Probation Officers – 1045
Corporate Sponsors – 35
Other – 114
Associate – 97
Honorary – 5
Emeritus – 1
Lifetime – 11
Karen reported to the Board that the reusable mail merge system for invoicing is working well. Several departments have already requested and paid invoices for 2025. Corporate sponsors were notified of the opportunity to renew for 2025 which is the same pricing as 2024.
Education
Shannon provided the Board with a written report via email. A visit to the Terra Haute Resort and Casino was scheduled in November 2024. She reported that the cost for the Management Institute dates was too expensive, so we will return to the Drury Inn, exact dates pending contract agreements. Shannon will continue working with the hotel and Education Committee to finalize details.
Fall Conference 2025 speaker updates and costs were provided. Phil Chalmers is the opening speaker.
Juvenile Delinquency Alternative Initiative (JDAI) Update
Heather Malone reported via email:
The FY25-26 JDAI Grant was released on 12.05.24. It is due to strategists on 1.08.2025 with the final version due to IDOC on 1.31.2025.
Probation Officer Advisory Board Update
Ryan Hull reported that POAB hasn’t met since the last POPAI Board Meeting. The education subcommittee met and discussed officer safety and security videos. IOCS is updating the training management system which will take several years to complete.
Probation Standards 4.22 (early termination): The committee had discussion on who’s responsible for making the request to the court – Defendant or Probation Officer? Seems to vary by county. IOCS is looking into possibly creating a policy.
Ryan, Shannon, and Adam all agreed that POAB has been losing momentum since COVID and moving to virtual meetings. Requests were made to begin work on a strategic plan and meet in person to rebuild the focus of the board.
Adam reported that the Supervision subcommittee hasn’t met since the last POPAI meeting.
Shannon will follow up with IOCS and suggest in person POAB meetings moving forward. Also, PO salary schedule discussions have been put on hold.
Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council (JRAC)
JRAC and EBDM workgroup updates were provided.
Old Business
Brief discussion about transfer audits being conducted by IOCS. Angela shared the letter received from Chris Biehn with all Chief Probation Officers who are a member of POPAI.
New Business
Sex Offender Static and Stable Training was briefly discussed. Marion County has offered to host the training. Looking at possible dates in March 2025.
Lobbyist contract was discussed. They are requesting an increase from $7500 to $10,000. Board further discussed. Benefits of maintaining with our current lobbyist were stated by several Board members. Jack Odle made a motion to continue working with Matt, pay the increased amount, and explore the contract in the next few years. Rupert seconded. All in favor. Motion passes.
Proposed language for juveniles in detention was discussed.
Ideas for Governor Braun’s transition plan discussed. Two suggestions were as follows:
Ryan – Several years ago it was discussed for the State pay Chief Probation Officer salaries.
Troy – There’s a statute already in place for a probation subsidy. About 15 years ago, the state budget was introduced with the state paying the salaries of all CPOs across the state. There’s a model for this as the state pays Prosecutor salaries for every county.
Heather provided an update on JDAI via email which was forwarded to the Board by Angela. The FY25-26 JDAI Grant was released on 12/5/2024. It is due to strategists on 1/08/2025 with the final version due to IDOC on 1/31/2025.
Today is Troy’s last meeting. Everyone wished him well and encouraged him to stay in touch.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. EST Johnson County and via Zoom.