Belvidere alderman proposing new city police station

•  

• 

 

• By Susan Vela
  Staff writer

   

   

• |

  Purchase this Photo

  The Belvidere-Boone County Public Safety Building on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016, in Belvidere. MAX GERSH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER/RRSTAR.COM

• 

  By Susan Vela
  Staff writer

  Posted Sep. 4, 2016 at 12:00 PM

• 

  Zoom

  |

  Purchase this Photo

  The Belvidere-Boone County Public Safety Building on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016, in Belvidere. MAX GERSH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER/RRSTAR.COM

  

  

  

• By Susan Vela
  Staff writer

  Posted Sep. 4, 2016 at 12:00 PM

  BELVIDERE — Alderman George Crawford’s proposal for the city to build its own police station separate from the Boone County Public Safety Building could get snuffed quickly.

  For several weeks, health problems have prevented the 4th Ward alderman from making formal presentations to the Committee of the Whole about the benefits of the department and its 43 officers having their own home.

  Also, some elected officials, including Boone County Sheriff Dave Ernest, are promising firm opposition.

  “I’m very surprised and somewhat confused,” Ernest said. “Working together (and) being a partner only makes sense. These days, the regional approach is much more preferred. Ultimately, all our resources are being cut. It’s nice to be able to share those.

  “We have to live within our means.”

  The county spends about $1.5 million a year, with roughly half of the dollars coming from city coffers, for maintenance, operation and staffing required for the 41-year-old Public Safety Building, 615 N. Main St.

  It houses the Belvidere Police Department, Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Boone County Coroner’s Office and a dispatch center that serves both the city and county.

  Crawford said he’d rather the city have its independence, especially as it pertains to the dispatch center.

  “It would be better with our own police station," Crawford said. "I’m not saying totally break away from the county. We could pay them to use 911."

  Crawford’s proposal is preliminary. He hasn’t chosen a location. There are no designs. He’s not sure how much it would cost.

  Even if the city moves into the planning stages, Budget and Finance Officer Becky Tobin said the city can't afford to build.

  “We would not have the means," she said. "We would have to sell bonds in order to fund something like that.”

  Crawford has at least one supporter on City Council.

  “I thought it would be a good idea,” said Ald. John Sanders, 5th Ward, declining further comment.

  Others prefer a more cautionary approach.

  “I want to see his information first,” Ald. Clayton Stevens, 1st Ward, said.

  Boone County and Belvidere have severed other government partnerships. Boone County Board members voted 8-4 in February to give the city a 90-day notice to pull out from a decades-long agreement to jointly plan for economic development and other planning and zoning matters.

  Belvidere Police Chief Jan Noble said he’d prefer the Boone County Public Safety Building expand than the city build a police station.

Now, the police agency’s patrol division and community policing coordinator are downstairs. The administrative, investigative and support staff portions are upstairs. Half of the sheriff's 119-employee staff work out of the courthouse basement.

“We have a very fragmented control of our employees,” Noble said. “We believe it could stand greater improvement. We just need more room.”

But in 2008, voters twice rejected tax increases to support a Public Safety Building expansion.

Boone County Administrator Ken Terrinoni said he’ll take a wait-and-see approach.

“It would be premature to comment,” he said. “We really need to visit with Belvidere officials and see what their goal is by proposing this.”

Susan Vela: 815-987-1392; svela@rrstar.com; @susanvela

 

Above is from:  http://www.rrstar.com/news/20160904/belvidere-alderman-proposing-new-city-police-station