'100 Day Plan' outlines goals for new Carpentersville fire chief

The Carpentersville Fire Department's new leader has hit the ground running with a list of goals he hopes to accomplish within 100 days.

The 10 objectives expected to be completed by mid-October - dubbed the "100 Day Plan" - aim to improve communication, training, risk management and personnel collaboration, said Chief John-Paul Schilling, who started his new position June 28.

"They're all an important piece of building the department to the point where we can start to create new successes moving forward," he said.

Since launching the initiative July 13, the fire department has tackled seven goals on the list, Schilling told the village board Tuesday. Village administrators, fire officials and executive board members from the full-time and part-time firefighters unions were in the midst of developing the plan before Schilling officially started, he said, making it easy for him to contribute ideas and jump headfirst into his leadership role.

The plan largely centers around the creation of committees - such as a safety committee, a training committee and an interdepartmental budget team - that will focus on reviewing past practices, revising guidelines and recommending improvements for specific areas within the fire department. With a large number of firefighters interested in being involved, Schilling said, committees will be re-evaluated annually.

Other objectives include establishing new procedures for recruiting and hiring part-time firefighters, as well as researching the feasibility of a project management software to improve efficiency and transparency - a process that could be implemented villagewide, Schilling said.

Additionally, Schilling has already begun holding regular labor-management meetings, as well as periodic meetings with battalion chiefs and lieutenants. Those sessions, he said, have prompted comments, concerns, suggestions and necessary discussions between staff members at all levels.

"Chief Schilling has done an excellent job reaching out to members and instilling the confidence in them that he will do everything in his power to ensure the most positive outcome," Rick Nieves, president of the Carpentersville Professional Firefighters Union, IAFF Local 4790, said in a statement.

Schilling, however, credited the fire department, village management and trustees for providing direction and helping to establish the objectives. "I feel we're moving forward very well."

Plan: Several committees will review, revise, recommend