Lake Forest Continues to Explore Shared 911 Dispatch, Police and Fire Stay As Is

Lake Forest Police Chief Jim Held says the city continues to explore a joint agreement with three other neighboring communities for 911 dispatch services.

Despite talk of the elimination of the police and fire departments, Held says the only change being considered is that of where 911 calls are taken. 

A study conducted by Matrix Consulting showed a savings of $1.9 million over five years if 911 dispatch was outsourced to Glenview. Highland Park and Lake Bluff would be the other neighboring communities who are considering the merge. 

According to an article on the City of Lake Forest's website, the consolidated dispatch would be handled at the dispatch center for the Village of Glenview, in addition to a second communications center at the Highland Park police headquarters.  Operators at the Highland Park center would be handled by Glenview village employees. 

The entire operation would be manned by four supervisors, 29 full-time operators and 10 part-time operators that would work in three different shifts per day, the article states. 

The annual amount of calls per year are estimated to be around 433,000 - but officials say the move, if approved, would not have an adverse effect on response times. 

If approved by the City of Lake Forest, the change is expected to occur in the next few months.