Hainesville mayor to decide on police service soon
Hainesville Mayor Linda Soto says she hopes to issue a recommendation to the village board in two weeks on whether to hire Grayslake police or the Lake County sheriff's office for patrol service.
Soto provided an update to Hainesville village trustees Tuesday night on the status of negotiations with Lake County and Grayslake. She said a lawyer for Grayslake police and the Lake County state's attorney's office, representing the sheriff, have draft contracts.
"In the next day or two, we'll have a meeting set with the Grayslake Police Department ... to further negotiations," Soto said.
Soto added that a similar session is expected with the sheriff's office attorneys.
Hainesville's 2-year-old police department was effectively put on a path to elimination in mid-April. That's when Soto gained approval to deal for the contracted police service after she broke a 3-3 village board vote on the issue.
Soto said she expects to issue a recommendation for the village board's June 22 meeting. She said the board may hold a special meeting after that date if more discussion on the police service is deemed necessary.
Plans call for the sheriff or Grayslake to be patrolling Hainesville about July 15.
Grayslake's initial proposal is to provide 24-hour-a-day police service to Hainesville for $711,782 in the new fiscal year that began May 1. The sheriff's office is offering complete around-the-clock protection for $791,566.
As proposed, Grayslake would create a fifth patrol beat to cover Hainesville. Grayslake also has floated the idea of incorporating the words "Also Serving Hainesville" into the village officers' patches. Soto said Grayslake has agreed to patrol two Hainesville community events annually without extra charge.
Lake County would assign a sheriff's deputy exclusively to Hainesville, along with allowing access to a myriad the agency's other services, such as a K-9 unit. A Hainesville decal would be affixed to the read of a sheriff's squad car, similar to what the county does for Long Grove.
Hainesville Police Chief Wallace Frasier estimated it could have cost $1.1 million to keep the department for the 2010-11 budget year. He said the extra costs would have been necessary to move into staffing with full-time officers who receive benefits.
Round Lake Park policed Hainesville from 1999 to 2008, but a money dispute ended the relationship. Hainesville then launched its police force.
State requirements revised in 1999 forced Hainesville to shut its part-time police department. Instead of paying for cops to undergo more training, the village chose to link with Round Lake Park.