FoxComm status still up in the air

FoxComm remains under the control of Fox Lake, at least for now.

Fox Lake officials have agreed to bring in a consultant to help decide whether it makes more fiscal sense to merge their emergency dispatch center with Cencom emergency dispatch center in Round Lake or to keep operating the center in house.

Officials decided the consultant would have the final say about the center, which is reported to be costing about $700,000 annually.

Mayor Cindy Irwin and Trustee Carol Ulasy said the village cannot keep the center and continue to lose money holding it. But, trustees Nancy Koske and Ed Bender said while the center does in fact cost a lot, but there is more to life than money.

"This issue is more than money, we have a building, hardware and training that costs about $1 million because the village is expected to provide certain services," Bender said. "We have our house in order at the 911 center and I don't want to lose control of that."

Ulasy said the center costs about $1.1 million annually to maintain. The village is currently working with a deficit of about $450,000 this year.

Ulasy said aside from merging with Cencom, she is out of ideas on how to balance the budget.

"I was amazed in the last two weeks no one has contacted me regarding the spreadsheets," she said. "I met with everyone and let them see the numbers. I told them this is where we are, these are the revenue sources we are coming up with, so I'm asking for ideas."

She said she originally thought the village could raise the telecommunication tax to help offset the cost of the center. However, that would not bring in enough of the additional revenue because the village could not increase 911 funds from other entities

However, the contracts the village signs with other villages could help keep the center afloat, Bender said

"We already have the facility, hardware and the people trained," Bender said. "Why would we go to a facility that is 15 years old and do not have the training our people have."

Fox Lake officials have been trying to decide what to do with the center for the past couple of months.

The center, which was renovated for $1 million roughly two years ago in the basement of the Fox Lake police department on Route 59, is a state-of-the-art facility that was originally created to be a revenue generator for the village.

However, since the facility opened, only Grayslake has come on board and penned a three year contract worth about $350,000 per year.

Other entities like Lake Villa and Lindenhurst have expressed interest in merging with FoxComm, but have not signed contacts with Fox Lake yet.

Irwin said she would be more than happy to contact a consultant to look over the finances of the 911 center and guide the board in a future decision.

"If this is what everyone wants, we'll go with what the consultant says," she said.