Arlington Heights to hire a dozen more cops, restoring staffing to prerecession levels

Arlington Heights plans to hire a dozen police officers over the next three years amid increasingly complex police calls and investigations, additional training demands, and other factors that take cops away from their beats, officials said.

Village board members have endorsed police department brass’ proposal to increase the number of authorized sworn staff from 110 to 122 — a recommendation that was formally unveiled Monday, but has been considered by a village hall working group for years.

It would restore the department’s full-time roster from recession-era cuts made two decades ago — and add one more position — for a total of 151 employees, including civilian social workers and records staff.

“The department became leaner after the Great Recession, but police roles and responsibilities subsequently became more time intensive,” said Deputy Police Chief Greg Czernecki. “The operating environment in 2026 is different from the operating environment in which those staffing decisions were made.”

Even though crime is down, Czernecki said officers are spending additional time on calls, handling more extensive investigations, analyzing digital evidence, and writing reports. That so-called “obligated time” takes them away from neighborhood patrols, traffic enforcement and community engagement, he said.

“Proactive and preventive policing is ultimately what gets squeezed,” Czernecki said.

He also pointed to increased absences in recent years from medical leave, injuries and sick days, which the department has historically been able to manage through voluntary overtime.

But fewer cops in Arlington Heights today want to take OT, requiring more mandatory “hire backs” — when officers are called into the station to work an extra shift.

Czernecki and Village Manager Randy Recklaus said overtime was once desired, but more employees now are placing a higher value on time away from work and with their families.

“It is really a pressure point. It’s a morale issue as well,” Recklaus said.

Officers now average 19.5 required training days a year, following implementation of the state’s 2021 criminal justice reform law, compared with 13.7 days before, officials said.

More events in town that require special police detail also take officers away from their regular roles, officials added.

The staffing plan would mean a $2.7 million annual budgetary impact for 12 new positions at full implementation.

Recklaus said he and Finance Director Melissa Gallagher have factored that in as they prepare for budget discussions with the village board in November.

Spending could be reduced in other areas to find a way to pay for the new cops, with the “goal” to keep the property tax levy flat, he added.

That’s been a particular emphasis of village trustees like Greg Zyck, but he and other board members wholeheartedly backed the police staffing plan Monday.

“I know I’ve been one of the ones who’ve been very vocal about the 0% (increase) and trying to keep the levy down,” Zyck said. “But I’ve also said that when it’s the right thing to do, we need to put the money toward the resources that are incredibly important, and this is one of those areas that is incredibly important.”

Under a phased implementation schedule, four new cops would hit the streets in each of the next three years beginning in 2027.

cplacek@dailyherald.com