Wauconda awaiting dispatch offer from Lake Zurich
Just a few weeks after Wauconda trustees voted to close the village's 911 dispatch center and outsource the service, Village Administrator Doug Maxeiner on Tuesday said he expects to have a formal proposal from a possible vendor next week.
The proposal would come from nearby Lake Zurich, which is trying to lure Wauconda's business to the dispatch center it operates at the Lake Zurich police station.
Maxeiner and the trustees reviewed Lake Zurich's preliminary proposal during Tuesday's board meeting at Wauconda's village hall. No decisions were made.
A deal with Lake Zurich could cost Wauconda about $218,000 annually, Maxeiner told the board.
The Wauconda Fire District is expected to migrate to whatever vendor the village board selects, too. A deal with Lake Zurich would cost the fire district about $122,000 annually, Maxeiner said.
Officials also are weighing an offer from a regional organization based in Round Lake Beach called CenCom.
CenCom handles dispatch services for 11 police and fire departments in Lake County. Lake Zurich's center takes calls for four agencies.
When Wauconda officials began discussing outsourcing in early 2014, they eyed Lake Zurich as a vendor. But technical concerns raised by the fire district scuttled a potential deal at that time.
Those issues, which concerned communications equipment, have since been resolved, so Lake Zurich is back at the table.
The preliminary documents from Lake Zurich are online at the village's website, wauconda-il.gov. They're part of the packet for Tuesday's board meeting.
Maxeiner said he expects to finalize the terms of a potential deal with Lake Zurich officials this week.
Outsourcing means Wauconda's 11 dispatchers will lose their jobs. A timetable for those layoffs hasn't yet been announced.
Wauconda residents have been overwhelmingly against the change, but officials said it's necessary to save the town money. Trustees were also moved by new state legislation that's expected to force towns to consolidate 911 services in the near future.