Consolidated 911 service may scramble to fill positions; ‘We’re going to have to … go to the streets and hire some more staff’

LakeComm, the consolidation of more than a dozen area emergency dispatch organizations, might not have an executive director until at least late December, and could face a high need for new hires, according to officials during a Wednesday meeting.

LakeComm is the culmination of more than a decade of efforts to consolidate regional 911 services. Local 911 authorities, known as the Emergency Telephone System Boards (ETSB), will consolidate into a joint board, and regional Public Safety Answer Points (PSAP) will merge to form LakeComm.

Jim Hawkins, LakeComm’s transition manager, gave an update to the executive committee on where the project stands, including a discussion of the hiring timeline for an executive director — a multi-phase, potentially 14-week process.

“If we’re aggressive, we could have a hire by the 20th of December,” he said.

The board also discussed policy for transitioning staff from other departments within the county. Hawkins said officials have seen interest from “a majority” of existing employees in transitioning to LakeComm depending on transition policies. However, he said, those will likely not be enough to fill all the available positions.

Vernon Hills Police Chief Patrick Kreis gave an update to the committee and said the PSAPs were struggling with personnel numbers, some more than others. They are having “preliminary conversations” about what to do until LakeComm becomes operational if a PSAP were to hit “dire straits” in terms of staffing.

Kreis said the “number-one concern” is filling any vacancies, knowing they are also hiring for LakeComm. He also wanted to assuage any fears from employees about whether there will be positions available at LakeComm.

“We’re going to have to merge our employees as efficiently as possible, then figure out how to go to the streets and hire some more staff,” Kreis said.

LakeComm has 24 members, representing 20 individual departments, as well as Lake County. The most recent addition was Newport Township.

One notably missing member is the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which officially pulled out of the consolidation in December due to “significant concerns,” including increased costs for the department and a loss of services provided.

Hawkins has previously said opting into the consolidation is an option in the future.