Kane sheriff would save $84K by taking over Emergency Management office

The Kane County sheriff's office is poised to merge with the county's Office of Emergency Management.

A county board committee on Thursday endorsed the move, which officials said could save more than $84,000 a year.

Sheriff Ron Hain said some of the savings will come from his department taking over fleet management and fuel costs for the Office of Emergency Management, which consists of trained volunteers who assist with duties such as crowd control at special events and managing traffic after severe car crashes.

The two departments already work together closely and 48 of the 102 counties in Illinois have their OEM offices managed by the sheriff, Hain said.

The sheriff's office will have a lieutenant oversee the OEM and the department has office space ready for the merger, Hain said.

As part of the merger, OEM volunteers will be sworn in as auxiliary sheriff's deputies. The auxiliary deputies will not be armed, nor will they have arresting powers.

Bill Lenert, committee chairman and District 5 county board member, called the merger "a great move."

The full county board is expected to consider it at its full meeting on May 7.

"As soon as it's approved, we're ready to go," Hain said.