Linda Blaser, Chicago Sun-Times

Lake Forest’s city leaders took the first step to entering an agreement with Lake Bluff, Highland Park and Glenview for centralized emergency 9-1-1 dispatch services Tuesday night, Jan. 21, by unanimously approving a resolution to draft a contract to set up the arrangement.

Highland Park approved the same resolution Jan. 13 and Lake Bluff also approved a matching resolution Monday, Jan. 27.

The 8-0 Lake Forest decision came after more than 30 minutes of discussion, during which several aldermen and one resident expressed concerns about shutting down dispatch operations in town and routing those calls through a dispatch center operated by the Village of Glenview in the Highland Park dispatch center.

The system would offer a complete back up, which officials said will be the first redundant 9-1-1 set-up in Illinois, if approved.

“I’m all for continuing the conversation and continuing to examine this, but I do have some real reservations,” 1st Ward Ald. Cathy Waldeck said.

Waldeck questioned how the city will turn back if services provided by off-site dispatchers don’t meet Lake Forest standards.

Fellow 1st Ward Ald. Kent Novit expressed the same concern about changing a 9-1-1 dispatch system that all agree works well, but said the council is obligated to move forward with the discussion.

“We have to explore services to optimize our revenue,” Novit said.

It is estimated Lake Forest will save $1.9 million over five years by switching to a consolidated dispatch service system with neighboring communities. Glenview now provides dispatch services for Grayslake, Hainesville, Niles and Morton Grove.

If the three municipalities join Glenview’s consolidated 9-1-1 center, the annual volume of calls could be expected to more than double, to an average of about 433,000 per year.

The center would be staffed by four 9-1-1 shift supervisors, 29 full-time telecommunications operators and 10 part-time operators spread across three shifts of the day. Local dispatchers would no longer be needed, but they could apply to work at the centralized operation.

The switch would leave the Lake Bluff station unmanned from approximately 10:30 p.m. to 7 a.m., which would save the village an estimated $1.4 million in personnel and other costs over a five-year period.

Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and Highland Park have explored shared dispatch services for police, fire and emergency medical calls since 2010.

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