Hainesville, Round Lake Park end feud over money

Hainesville will pay $300,000 to settle a dispute with Round Lake Park over how much it owed for police services.

Mayor Ted Mueller said Hainesville will pay $250,000 as soon as both villages and the judge sign the settlement. The remaining $50,000 will be paid over nine months. The agreement was approved by the Hainesville board at its Tuesday night meeting and previously was approved by Round Lake Park.

Of the $300,000, Mueller said, $148,000 will come from a separate account the village already had reserved during the nine-month negotiation period.

"After tonight, everything will be behind us," Mueller said.

He called the settlement a "compromise," adding Hainesville is paying more than it wanted and Round Lake Park is receiving less than it wanted.

"Neither party is a winner. Neither party is a loser. We both bent a little bit," he said. Round Lake Park Mayor Jean McCue said she is glad to see the litigation did not move further and hopes the two villages can salvage their relationship.

"At the end of the day, it's not perfect, but both villages got something out of it. Isn't that what compromise is all about?" McCue said. "We're glad it's being put to rest."

Hainesville partnered with the Round Lake Park Police Department for nine years starting in 1999. The relationship ended Feb. 10 after a dispute over the cost of services. Hainesville paid a monthly amount to Round Lake Park for police services.

Mueller said according to the agreement, the monthly cost would be reviewed each year and adjusted, but the annual reviews by Round Lake Park never occurred. Last year, Round Lake Park claimed it was not charging Hainesville enough and wanted more money. When Hainesville refused to pay the difference, Round Lake Park began litigation seeking over $550,000.

"That is when the relationship between the two communities started to go downhill," Mueller said.

Hainesville went on to form its own department last January and was monitored by the Lake County sheriff's police until the village's department officially took over services last May.

Mueller said he and residents are now delighted with the village's full-time police department. It is working out extremely well, he said.

"It's unfortunate that this happened the way it did," Mueller said. "I think the village did need its own police department."