Hoffman police, fire to leave posts vacant
Hoffman Estates police will soon get a new $28 million station, but that doesn't mean the force is immune to negative economic forces.
Chief Clinton Herdegen said Monday the department won't fill three patrol vacancies this year or next. That comes after village staff earlier this year instructed departmental heads to trim their budgets.
Herdegen said the village needed to make the staff reduction official so candidates on the police hiring list know exactly why those jobs aren't being filled. From a legal standpoint, that means a candidate couldn't allege discrimination as why they weren't being offered a police job.
Mayor William McLeod said the village has increased the size of the force in past years and added that the village will eventually fill the vacancies.
"The toughest cuts are personnel, we don't want to do it," he said. "But we're not eliminating anybody's job, we're eliminating the position."
The result is the official number of sworn officers goes from 105 to 102. The cuts are saving the village $179,000 for fiscal year 2008 and $226,500 for 2009.
The village overall had budgeted $46.2 million for salaries in 2008 for 412 full-time employees in a $125.9 million total budget.
McLeod said decreasing revenues from sales and property transfer taxes - plus weather-related costs like snow removal and the 282 hours of overtime paid to public works crews during this month's storms - contributed to the cuts.
Police will consider using specialty officers on patrol and will spread the vacancies across its three patrol shifts. Herdegen stressed there will be no adverse effect to the community.
"We are obviously still committed to having a street presence," McLeod said, noting other departments, like public works, are also facing budget cuts.
Increasing the size of the police force has been one of the departments goals, as its officers are set to move into a new police station in August 2010 at 401 W. Higgins Road.
"They'll still fill the new building," McLeod said. "They're really crammed in the building on Gannon Drive."
Village budget concerns will also hit the fire department.
Fire Chief Robert Gorvett said his department will "submit a similar proposition" to bring its head count from 106 to 103.
The fire department continues to look for applicants, even turning to MySpace to attract younger candidates, at myspace.com/hoffmanestatesfire. The starting salary for a Hoffman Estates firefighter is $50,411.
The fire department is also getting ready for its own new station, No. 24, at 5775 Beacon Pointe. The station is estimated to cost $6.25 million and will replace the station at 2601 Pratum Ave. in Prairie Stone Business Park. The move-in date is scheduled for summer 2009.
"They're replacing one building with another. It's the same staffing," McLeod said.