Grayslake finalizes police deal with Hainesville

Grayslake village trustees have approved their end of a deal so the village's police department can start patrolling neighboring Hainesville in two weeks.

Hainesville Police Chief Wallace Frasier and his Grayslake counterpart, Larry Herzog, already began meeting Wednesday in preparation for the transition. Hainesville Mayor Linda Soto said Grayslake police officers have been told to begin driving through the village while on duty to establish familiarity before the changeover.

In addition, Grayslake police are expected to participate in ride-alongs with Hainesville cops as part of the transition, Soto said. Grayslake will provide 24-hour-a-day service.

"We are targeting July 21 for our official startup," Soto said.

Grayslake village board members voted 5-0 at a meeting Tuesday night in favor of the police deal. Trustee Jeff Werfel was absent.

Last week, the Hainesville village board voted in favor of a three-year contract for Grayslake's police service. Grayslake will have five to seven cops on duty for both villages at any given time.

Hainesville will pay $596,000 for patrol service and a $25,000 startup fee to Grayslake this year. Soto said the $596,000 will be paid in installments.

By disbanding its 2-year-old police department, Hainesville projects saving about $300,000 this year by contracting for police service. Including dispatching fees, Hainesville expects to pay about $712,000 instead of $1.1 million that Frasier said would have been needed to move the department out of village hall with full-time officer staffing.

Grayslake will create a fifth beat to include Hainesville in its patrol scheme. The contract between the villages states one patrol officer per shift will be assigned exclusively to Hainesville.

"In the event that the patrol officer assigned to the fifth beat leaves that beat," the contract states, "then an adjacent beat officer, or some other officer/sergeant on duty, will temporarily take over the responsibility for the fifth beat as well as that officer's previously designated beat assignment."

Grayslake police will have authority to enforce all Hainesville municipal ordinances, according to the contract. That won't include enforcement of property maintenance, zoning or building code violations.

Herzog has said Grayslake's 33 full-time cops and two part-timers now on staff will be able to handle Hainesville without additional hires. Hainesville's roughly 3,400 residents and about 50 businesses will be added to coverage of Grayslake and its 20,030 residents and businesses.

Round Lake Park policed Hainesville from 1999 to 2008, but a money squabble ended the relationship. Hainesville then started its own police department.

State requirements revised in 1999 forced Hainesville to close its part-time department. Instead of paying for officers to undergo more training, the village opted to link with Round Lake Park.