Impound fee leads to rare disagreement in Streamwood

Streamwood plans to hire more firefighters and police in 2008 -- but how to pay for them has stirred one of the biggest disagreements among local leaders in recent memory.

Against the advice of the police chief and village manager, Streamwood trustees are on track to enact a $500 vehicle impound fee next Thursday.

The fee would have to be paid before cars seized in DUIs or suspended license arrests, or cars used in the commission of a felony, could be retrieved by their owners.

The fee would be in addition to those charged by the towing companies themselves.

Imposing the impound fee could raise enough money to fund three more firefighters, two more police officers and an additional employee to administer the fee.

Yet Village Manager Gary O'Rourke and Police Chief Alan Popp opposed the impound fee on two grounds.

First, they warned trustees the impound fee might not withstand a legal challenge of its constitutionality.

And they said they felt it might not be a sustainable source of income for the village if motorists became more aware of it and it became a deterrent.

But the majority of trustees said they felt they should at least try the impound fee, saying it was preferable to any other funding option.

At a budget planning session Thursday, Village President Billie Roth acknowledged how rare it is for the board to disagree with a staff recommendation, as well as to not reach full consensus.

"Usually when we're discussing the budget and personnel, we've reached a compromise," Roth said. "It's rare that we've out and out disagreed with staff's recommendation."

Popp estimated about 800 vehicles would be seized annually, yielding about $400,000 a year under the fee. The cost of the new personnel would be $375,000 a year.

The hires would add one additional firefighter per shift and allow Popp to create a four-man police unit to target traffic hot spots and nuisance complaints.

Trustees voiced no disagreement with the justification for these hires. In fact, three trustees asked for six firefighters to be hired but ultimately complied with the majority's wish for only three.

"I can live with three firefighters and two police officers," said Trustee Jason Speer, who'd been among those pushing for more.

Trustee James Cecille suggested the board's lack of unity so soon before the budget vote showed a breakdown in communication.

"Have we really collectively worked as a team like we used to?" he asked.

Roth suggested lingering labor negotiations with the fire department prevented other personnel issues from being discussed earlier in the year like they usually are.

A $700,000 transfer from village reserves is also necessary to balance revenues and costs in the new budget, even without the additional personnel.

The budget vote was deferred this week as Trustee Guy Patterson was called away for a family emergency. The board is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at village hall to vote on the new budget, which includes the impound fee and the new personnel.