SAUK VILLAGE | Three new experienced police officers are working for the village's Police Department.
Deputy Police Chief Tim Holevis and Village Clerk Debbie Williams presided over the swearing in of Michael Brown, Chad Fredericksen and Frank White on Tuesday. All three are experienced officers who were on the job at a different location until they began to work for Sauk Village.
When asked, Holevis declined to say where they previously worked.
The three officers fill existing vacancies that already were budgeted for, according to Trustee Derrick Burgess.
“The money was already there in the budget for these positions,” he said. “This hiring does not impact our finances in any way.”
Holevis said he was very pleased that the department was able to add experienced officers who can hit the streets immediately.
“We do not have to incur the expense of sending anyone to the training academy,” he said. “Plus we do not have to wait until they are trained for them to be able to contribute. This is a very good thing for the village.”
The hiring comes on the heels of a renewed emphasis by Acting Village President David Hanks and the board of trustees to provide more resources and equipment to the Police Department in the past few months. Vehicle tires, vests and other equipment have been bought recently.
In other village news, the Village Board announced that the closing of Tax Increment Financing District No. 1 resulted in disbursements of TIF funds that had been in escrow. Money generated from redevelopment within the TIF district is then reinvested within the district until it expires.
Hanks presented checks from the TIF funds to representatives of Bloom Township High School District 206 and Community Consolidated Schools District 168, along with the village itself and the McConathy Public Library.
D.168 Superintendent Al Travaglini received a check for $71,718. D.206 Business Manager Ann Williams got a check for $52,280. The library was given $5,556, and Sauk Village received $58,000.
"The purpose of the TIF was to provide tax relief to the local taxing bodies,” Hanks said. “TIF No. 1 was started in 1988 and now closed 25 years later. This TIF provided tax incentives to both new development as well as existing taxing bodies.”
In other action, the board:
• Named Assurance Agency Ltd. as the broker of record for health, dental, vision and life insurance for the village.
• Named the Owens Group as the broker of record for property and casualty insurance.
• Named Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative as the electrical supplier for the electricity aggregate. NIMEC will negotiate rates on behalf of the village and present its recommendation to the village.
• Approved a five-year lease on new copiers with Martin Whalen Inc. The new lease is $286 monthly. That is less than the previous contract for a significant upgrade to the copiers, according to Village Clerk Debbie Williams.
• Approved a lease with Clear Channel for cellphone tower space.
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