Two part-timers about to join FRG police

Fox River Grove is getting ready to hire two part-time police officers after two full-time positions were cut from this year’s budget.

Police Chief Ron Lukasik said he hopes to make conditional job offers to two candidates this week. The candidates will be required to go through a background check, plus psychological and medical evaluations, before they can be hired, he said.

At Thursday’s village board meeting, trustees approved an ordinance stating that all part-time officers employed by the village must be state certified. The ordinance is required to comply with requirements set by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, Lukasik said. All full-time officers must be certified as well, he pointed out.

Two officers retired last year, and their positions were eliminated from the village’s 2011-12 budget, which began May 1, Lukasik said. The department is currently staffed by eight patrolmen, one sergeant and the chief. The budget, at just under $895,000, includes $34,000 to hire two part-time officers, he said.

The part-time officers will be called into work when needed, he said.

“It’s about having adequate shift average,” Lukasik said. “The part-time officers will be utilized to fill gaps in the scheduling, such as when full-timers take time off, vacation, comp time and personal time.”

One of the two police officers who retired last year was filling in on the role of detective, so now the remaining officers are doing additional follow-ups to their cases, Lukasik said.

Lukasik said he is the department’s most senior officer, and will be eligible to retire in 6 years.