Ward 6 Ald. Jennifer Notariano received an expenditure report for the Springfield Police Department on Friday after voicing her frustrations during last week’s Springfield City Council meeting about obtaining data from city officials.
Illinois Times previously reported Notariano aired concerns during an Oct. 13 city council discussion on an ordinance to purchase new police department SUVs that her request for financial information on the Springfield Police Department wasn’t being fulfilled.
The ordinance, authorizing more than $600,000 for the vehicle purchases, passed 7-2 at the Oct. 20 meeting following a testy exchange among some council members.
During debate on the ordinance, Notariano said, “I haven’t been given information. I’ve been given excuses and I’ve been stonewalled, and that is something that I want the record to reflect.”
She outlined concerns for what she described as “resistance to transparency” by Mayor Misty Buscher’s administration.
“It looks like, based on the conversation we’ve had here tonight and the conversation we had about the previous ordinance, it looks like there is a pattern in this administration of being avoidant to transparency, trying to not examine our own data that the city creates that could be useful to us to improve processes,” Notariano said.
Notariano, who has been outspoken about wanting a mental health wellness program in place for SPD officers, said a review of the finances could have showed that the savings from purchasing one less SUV would have covered the cost of the program.
Notariano has previously described her sense of urgency for the program during a city council meeting, noting a recent case of a police officer charged with a DUI. In an email sent to city officials over the summer, Notariano wrote, “It should be a matter of urgency – this year- that the department prioritize officer mental health and overall wellbeing with evidence-based methods for getting them the help they need before it destroys their careers and degrades the reputation of the entire force.”
Cases where current or retired police personnel have been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol include the 2024 incident of newly retired sergeant Michael Egan who was charged with a Class 4 felony for aggravated driving under the influence and causing great bodily harm following a collision between his SUV and a motorcycle.
In August, Sgt. Lindzee Carpenter was charged with a DUI, demoted of her rank and given a 30-day suspension.
Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer defended Springfield Police Chief Joseph Behl, saying the chief was responsive to his questions about the conditions of police vehicles.
“I asked him for the data and he brought it up,” he said.” That’s when I wanted it, and so I don’t know what the deal is with it.”
And while he didn’t comment on Notariano’s concerns for transparency, he accused her of breaking the city’s procurement rules by recommending a particular vendor for the program for officers. “You said it was sole-sourced; you’re lying to us,” Hanauer said, to which Notariano replied, “I am not lying.”
“It’s up to the mayor and the chief if they want to move forward with that particular software and where the money comes from – that’s their decision,” Hanauer said. “We pass the budget. That’s all we can do. They can move money around. They can do whatever they want. That’s the hard facts about this strong mayor (form of government),” he said.
Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams, Jr. defended Notariano’s inquiry. “Don’t make her a bad person because she asked questions about information that you don’t want the public to know, because the public deserves to know.”
“She can ask her questions and we can respond to them, but we don’t have to respond to them so demeaning and talking down to folks like that,” Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory said.
Notariano, whose full-time job involves procurement for the state, referred to city rules to refute Hanauer’s claim.
“So, figure out a different argument of why you don’t want benchmark analytics, why you don’t want early intervention for our officers,” she said.
Illinois Times reviewed a July email between Notariano and city budget director Ramona Metzger where the council member makes requests for police department finance information.
“I’m looking for the entire (police) budget showing line items that have been spent versus not spent. Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated!” Notariano wrote on July 10.
Metzger replied, “How quickly do you need this report? I can run a system-generated version; however, there are still outstanding journal entries . . .”
On Aug. 18, Metzger wrote, “We have completed a thorough review of the SPD budget lines, and there is no available budget authority within the FY27 budget to support this request.” In addition, she advised the alderwoman that “an ordinance requesting a supplemental appropriation from the unappropriated fund balance would be required.” Also, she said the ordinance must include cost estimates related to integration of the system and may require a memorandum of understanding with the police union.
On Aug. 24, Notariano stressed her original request. ”I would like to see the budget data,” she wrote.
Earlier this month, Metzger emailed city council coordinator Tim Griffin with Buscher, Behl and corporation counsel Gregory Moredock copied with “the budget string for EDP Software.’” Notoriano told IT that was not what she had requested.
On Oct. 23, Notariano received a document with the police department spending and budget information for the current fiscal year, which appears to have fulfilled the council member’s request.
Notariano told IT she hasn’t had an instance in the past when it’s been this difficult to have a request for city information fulfilled.
“If I have, it hasn’t been this bad,” she said.
