The Daily Herald has an article about a possible outsourcing of Wauconda’s 9-1-1 call center.

Opponents of a proposal to scrap Wauconda’s 911 center and outsource dispatching held a sit-in Saturday at the police station. Monica Knigge, wife of former Mayor Mark Knigge, pledged to stage the protest inside the lobby of police headquarters until midnight.

“There’s no asking or caring about what the residents and voters want,” Knigge said Saturday in a phone interview. “It’s just being shoved down our throats.”

Officials say closing Wauconda’s 911 center and outsourcing dispatching to Lake Zurich could save $2.1 million over five years.

The recommendation by Village Administrator Doug Maxeiner comes less than four years after Wauconda officials — led by then-Mayor Knigge — vowed to keep 911 services in-house if voters backed a 2010 tax increase for fire-district services. Voters signed off on the measure, and about a year later, Wauconda funneled money into upgrades and new technology for the 911 center.

Ten full-time and two part-time positions would be eliminated if the village shuts down the center. The contract with the dispatchers’ union expired in April 2013.

“People are upset, and so they have a right to express their opinions,” Trustee Linda Starkey said Saturday.

The 911 center handles calls for Wauconda’s police and fire protection district, as well as Tower Lakes and Lakemoor police departments.

 

Tags: Doug Maxeiner, Wauconda Fire District, Wauconda looks into outsourcing 9-1-1 call center, Wauconda’s 911 center