Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Police Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Police report: open‑records requests and call volume surge; chief urges adding staff
Summary
Committee heard a detailed police operations report citing a rise in open records requests (13 to 113), a 186.29% increase in cases since 2019, rising calls per day (about 4.6 to 13.2) and high overtime; staff recommended adding personnel or considering referendum funding.
An agency official presented the department’s operations report and urged the committee to address staffing as calls and administrative demands increase. The presenter told the committee, “We've gone from 13 to 113” open records requests and later summarized operational strain: “So it's a 186.29% increase in cases from 2019 to now,” which the presenter said equates to an average increase from roughly 4.6 calls per day to about 13.2 calls per day.
The report noted reductions in some crimes compared with earlier counts but highlighted heavy workload and unsustainable overtime: department overtime totaled about 308 hours and the presenter said they personally worked 404 extra hours to cover shifts. The presenter described impacts on community policing and staff wellness and said the department is short‑staffed compared with peer communities, recommending the committee consider hiring an additional full‑time officer or pursuing a referendum for staffing funds.
Committee members discussed budget constraints and options including part‑time hiring strategies, scheduling changes and bringing a staffing memo to the Village Board during budget deliberations. The presenter said if the committee directs it, they will prepare a memo recommending an additional officer for board consideration.
Next steps: staff will prepare a staffing recommendation memo for the committee and Village Board and include clarified budget options; no hiring decision was made at the meeting.
