Hainesville votes to shut down police department

Hainesville Mayor Linda Soto cast a tiebreaking vote Tuesday night in favor of shutting the village's 2-year-old police department and contracting for patrol service from Grayslake or the Lake County sheriff's office.

Village board trustees voted 3-3 on whether to authorize Soto to negotiate for outside police service when she ended the public debate that began early this year. Hainesville is expected to save about $300,000 by contracting with the sheriff or Grayslake.

"It is the time for tough decisions," Soto said before about 80 people at village hall. "And tough decisions have to be made."

Soto said after Tuesday night's meeting she expected to contact Grayslake and the sheriff's office today and begin negotiations as soon as possible. She said she hopes a final decision will be made in 60 to 90 days.

Trustee Gary Walkington was among the three elected officials who preferred to keep Hainesville police. He said the higher cost for the village cops would be an investment in Hainesville.

"I do believe there is a price on safety, but what that price is right now, I don't know," Walkington said.

Hainesville Police Chief Wallace Frasier estimated it would have cost $1.1 million to keep the village department for the 2010-11 fiscal year that starts May 1. He said the police needed to move from a startup mode into a department with full-time officer staffing.

Moving the Hainesville police from village hall into a rented building and personnel costs would have been the lion's share of the $1.1 million estimate.

Grayslake is offering complete police service to Hainesville for $711,782 in the new fiscal year. The Lake County sheriff's office proposes charging $791,566 for its complete patrol package.

If selected, Grayslake would create a fifth patrol beat to cover Hainesville. Five to seven officers would be on duty at any given time.

Grayslake Police Chief Larry Herzog said at a recent presentation that a logo could incorporate the words "Also Serving Hainesville" on patches worn by his officers.

Under a deal with Lake County, Hainesville would receive a sheriff's deputy assigned exclusively to the town, along with a variety of other services the agency provides. A "Hainesville" decal would be placed in a rear window of a sheriff's squad car, similar to what's done for the patrol service contracted by Long Grove.

Soto said the proposals may change after formal negotiations begin.

Round Lake Park covered Hainesville from 1999 to 2008, but a money dispute ended the relationship.

Although Round Lake Park offered to police Hainesville for $540,000 to $583,000, the offer was never formally discussed. Some Hainesville officials cited a previously strained relationship with Round Lake Park as a reason not to entertain the offer.

State requirements revised in 1999 forced Hainesville to shut its part-time police department. Instead of paying for cops to undergo more training, Hainesville opted to link with Round Lake Park.

Hainesville Trustees Kevin Barrett, Jim Tiffany and Walkington voted against authorizing Soto to negotiate for contracted police service. Trustees John Derenoski, Georgeann Duberstein and Gerry Daley were in favor, with Soto going on to break the tie.

Soto said severance pay and good references would be part of the package for the outgoing police department. Hainesville has a chief, a sergeant and three full-time officers augmented by eight part-time cops.

Ten residents were split on the issue when they spoke before the village board vote.

Outsource: Move is expected to save about $300,000