CVRA BOARD MEETING MINUTES
September 22, 2015
Loydene Berg Cecilia Gutierrez Patti Jensen Excused
Sandi Johnson JoAnn Huber Pauli Romine Dave Fowers
Chet Loftis Tisha Littlewood Susana Salgado Shane Minor Mark McDermott Val Torres
Gary Scheller Lori Maroney Connie Wettlaufer
Christine Watters Dale Oyler Paul Tonks, AG’s Office
Chet Loftis convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m.
1. Approval of the June 15, 2015 Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Loydene Berg, seconded by Shane Minor, to approve the June 15, 2015 minutes as written. All in favor. Motion passed.
2. Financial Update Gary Scheller
Gary reported that UOVC’s financial outlook is good. UOVC was able to transfer over $300,000 back into the Trust Fund for the first time in five years. This amount is, however, less than what had been anticipated. Gary said he has noticed an increase in the dollar amount paid out for medical expenses. He said the Board may want to look at an increase in the current medical reduction rate and/or look at the possibility of using a fee schedule for payments like the one PEHP has in place.
3. Grant Processes Christine Watters
Christine talked about the current VAWA RFP cycle that will run from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. In addition to the VAWA cycle, this year there will be a VOCA Short Cycle that will run from January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016. The assistance staff has provided three training sessions on the VAWA and Short Cycle RFP process. In preparation for the increased funding UOVC will receive this year, the Short Cycle was established to award funds that were held back over the years to use in the event that the Federal funding fluctuated. The Short Cycle funds will be allocated in four areas as follows: to agencies currently receiving VOCA grants for additional funding based upon current unmet needs; to agencies who have never received VOCA funding; to agencies who need funding for equipment and other one-time expenditures; and some VAWA grant awards will be moved to VOCA grants. This last step will free up VAWA funds to be used on other projects.
4. Report on Claim Extensions JoAnn Huber
The reopening of claims beyond three years was discussed at a previous meeting. At that time, the Board asked the Reparation Officers to track the requests received. JoAnn reported that only seven claims had been reopened since then and very little had been paid out on those claims. Six of the victims wanted to use the mental health benefit and one victim needed help with dental costs related to the crime. JoAnn said the Reparation Officers were being very conservative when considering requests for extension.
5. Electronic Meeting Rule Gary Scheller
Gary presented an administrative rule proposal for electronic meetings. The new rule would allow a member(s) to participate in Board meetings electronically if they were unable to attend. A motion was made by Sandi Johnson, seconded by Shane Minor, to adopt the proposed rule as presented. All in favor. Motion passed.
A motion was made by Shane Minor, seconded by Loydene Berg, to close the meeting for the review of subrogation claims. All in favor. Motion passed.
6. Closed Meeting for the Review of Subrogation Cases Susana Salgado
A motion was made by Loydene Berg, seconded by Shane Minor, to reopen the meeting. All in favor. Motion passed.
7. Board Vote on Subrogation Claims
1. Claim Number 1027262
A motion was made by Shane Minor, seconded by Sandi Johnson, to reduce UOVC’s lien by 38.5% so that UOVC will receive $30,711.35 from the settlement. All in favor. Motion passed.
CVRA Board Meeting
September 22, 2015
Page 2
2. Claim Number 1021178
A motion was made by Sandi Johnson, seconded by Loydene Berg, to reject the request to reduce the lien by 66% and to direct the attorney to resolve the outstanding medical liens and to determine if there are additional payments for UOVC to consider. The Board will readdress this issue when a response is received from the attorney. All in favor. Motion passed.
8. Law Enforcement Perspective on Use of Force and Victimization Shane Minor
Shane shared his insight on the topic of the militarization of the police. He referenced many incidents he has observed during his 35 years of experience in law enforcement and said there are certain factors that should be considered. Each and every incident is separate and should be dealt with that way; the news reports do not always provide the full story to the public; and one should seek out what the truth is on both sides of the situation. We are living in a violent society, and as time goes on, more problems will occur. Law enforcement is constantly changing how they deal with situations. The police are often outgunned so they are changing their tactics on how to deal with all the home grown domestic terrorists and other violent situations. They will react to the threat not only for their own protection but for the protection of the community. They are dealing with people who do not have much remorse. They do not know what they are responding to so they use different tactics. The press calls it militarization, but Shane said he does not know if that is the proper term to use or not. A documentary entitled “Peace Officer”, which debuted at the SXSW Film Festival, was discussed. The subject of the documentary is about the increasingly militarized state of American police as told through the story of “Dub” Lawrence, a former sheriff who established and trained his rural state’s first SWAT team only to see that same unit kill his son-in-law in a controversial standoff 30 years later. Driven by an obsessed sense of mission, Dub uses his own investigative skills to uncover the truth in this and other recent officer-involved shootings in his community while tackling larger questions about the changing face of peace officers nationwide.
The next meeting will be held on December 15, 2015.
Meeting adjourned.