Hoffman Estates vows to try to stop cop layoffs

Firefighters were saved from personnel cuts Monday in Hoffman Estates, and the mayor vowed to continue negotiations to avoid four police officers from being laid off.

Trustees on Monday night adopted the village's 2010 budget during a tense and jam-packed board meeting that featured several crowd outbursts with impassioned pleas to save public safety jobs. The $44.5 million general fund budget is a 2.9 percent cut in spending from 2009.

While trustees acknowledged the new three-year contract with the fire department union by removing the proposed six fire layoffs from the budget, the four layoffs to junior police officers remained. The unions were told to trim $400,000 each from their departments' budgets or face the layoffs. The village projected a $1.2 million deficit in the 2010 budget.

An agreement to avoid the police layoffs could still be negotiated by Jan. 1, which would be when the officers would lose their jobs. Mayor William McLeod will continue to meet with the police union to try to broker a deal.

The board had to adopt a budget Monday, as the state requires villages to do that every year by the first meeting in December. But numbers can be changed, and the police jobs still can be saved.

"We can reach an understanding; the budget can be amended at any time," Village Manager James Norris said.

Norris was a frequent target Monday, with police union members referencing his $170,000-plus annual salary. They argued Norris was the one who needed to make concessions.

Trustee Cary Collins also criticized Norris, saying the village wasn't doing an adequate job of informing the board about the labor talks. Collins, the only one to vote against the budget, called Norris "part of the problem."

Several audience members grew frustrated at the three-minute limit for comments imposed by the village board. They pointed out that the village staff, including Police Chief Clinton Herdegen, was given more time to talk.

Union members wore T-shirts reading "stop wasteful spending" on the front with "public safety needs public debate" on the back. They pointed to money spent on village commissions, trips for trustees and the Sears Centre as examples of pork.

Police union leader Flo Williams was angry the village wouldn't guarantee that layoffs wouldn't happen in the future. Police officers are looking for a contract similar to what the fire union received.

"What's the point of giving up money if you're still going to lay people off?" she said.

Herdegen stressed the number of patrol officers won't be reduced. Officers working at local schools, such as Officer Friendly and the DARE officer, would be reassigned to the streets, as well as officers working desk jobs.

The fire department contract still hasn't been formally written and signed.

The deal takes the union to 2011, as the three-year contract is retroactive to the start of this year. Firefighters won't get their 4 percent raise until Dec. 31, 2010, which frees up money for the village. The fire department was working under the terms of an expired contract.

"This whole thing is about maintaining the level of services in Hoffman Estates when it comes to public safety," fire union leader Dean Slater said.

The police union and village agreed on a contract last year that gave officers 4 percent yearly salary raises. Hoffman Estates officials want to renegotiate that contract, including giving up step salary increases next year and losing a $750 uniform allowance.

Village officials said they're struggling through the economy just like neighboring towns and need the unions to make concessions.