Pingree Grove looks to make police service full-time

Kane County is pushing the Pingree Grove police department out of the nest, telling village officials that due to county budget constraints it's time for the fledgling force to fly on its own.

Starting in January, Pingree Grove police will be responsible for everything after the county's initial response: arrests, evidence collection, crime scene processing and, of course, the equipment it takes to do all that, Police Chief Carol Lussky said.

The looming cutbacks have village officials seriously considering whether to turn the part-time police force into a full-time operation.

"It's just been a catalyst to have Pingree Grove move a little faster than we had anticipated," Lussky said Tuesday.

Kane County has handled the small town's police services for at least 50 years and the village does not pay for the county to send a squad out to respond to an emergency, Village President Clint Carey said.

But there are two contracts for other services.

There's one for sheriff's deputies providing patrols in the village, which costs $800 a month, Carey said.

The other contract deals with the county's 911 dispatch service. Last year the village paid $5,000 for a partial year after the police chief came aboard. That number is expected to increase next year and is still under discussion, Carey said.

Pingree Grove's police force has been around for only about a year and employs five part-time officers, including the police chief.

Though officials don't yet know how much a full-time conversion will cost, it won't be cheap.

Carey says the last thing he wants is to establish a tax to pay for new officers.

The village's budget can sustain three full-time police salaries -- including the police chief's -- and officials will meet to determine if it could cover benefits and other officers.

But Carey will have to turn to the taxpayers to finance a police retirement plan that he says would keep Pingree Grove competitive with other towns.

"We're probably going to have to get a referendum in the spring to help fund the pension," Carey said.

A switch to a full-time schedule means existing village hall employees would relocate to a trailer, reserving the building for the police department and evidence storage.

As part of the transition, Lussky says she would retire from her other policing job. She's a sergeant in Hanover Park.

Pingree Grove Sgt. Shawn Beane is already retired and can work full time, Lussky said.

As for the remaining three part-time officers, they'll have to decide what to do. If they stay on full time, Lussky will hire part-time officers to support them. If they want to remain part time, she'd have to hire new full-timers.

Current call activity and crime in Pingree Grove doesn't warrant round-the-clock coverage, said Lussky, who has been analyzing at what point the department would have to go full time.

There are no hard feelings toward the sheriff's department, Carey and Lussky said. They knew the day would come eventually.

Besides, the sheriff's department will continue responding to the village's emergency phone calls and securing crime scenes, Carey said.

"I appreciate everything that the sheriff's department has done for us," he said. "I guess that there's just some restructuring and budgeting issues."