Kane County to shift 911 burden to municipalities

Finance departments for several communities who help fund the KaneComm emergency dispatch might be calling 911 soon as the county has decided it will no longer pay the bulk of the center's costs.

Instead, the communities themselves must foot the bill, according to a three-year plan the county is set to implement to relieve itself of the cost. The county just finished the fiscal year nearly $3 million in the red.

A recent study of the dispatch system showed the county is currently charging the communities that use the system about $195,000. That only represents a fraction of the true personnel costs. The study suggested a new fee system should be implemented that would reap more than $540,000 and fund the entire KaneComm budget. The system would be based on a membership fee of either $5,000 or $10,000 and the total calls for service a community generates. The fewer police and fire calls a community has, the cheaper the dispatch service would be.

KaneComm Communications Director Jennifer Baustian told county board members this week the changes represent "a very substantial fee increase to users."

"As you could imagine, no one was thrilled," Baustian said. But, given the cheap cost of the current service and the poor economy, the communities also weren't shocked to learn they'd be saddled with more of the cost, she said.

Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay told the KaneComm board earlier this year she would not support any fee increase without the municipalities expressing a willingness to accept the change and remain subscribers.

To help ease the fiscal pain, the county will phase in the increase over three years. Starting this fiscal year, communities will be expected to pick up 50 percent of the total KaneComm budget. In 2010, the communities will have 75 percent of the burden. And by 2011, the entire KaneComm budget will be funded by the subscribers.

KaneComm provides police dispatch services for the Kane County Sheriff's Department and Forest Preserve District, Elburn, Wayne, Gilberts, Hampshire, Maple Park, Pingree Grove, Campton Hills and the Fox Valley Park District. Fire services for Burlington, Big Rock, Kaneville, Hampshire, Maple Park and Pingree Grove also use KaneComm for dispatch.