Port Barrington - need a cop?

Where is Port Barrington getting its police protection?

Remember when Port Barrington suspended its police chief and then dissolved its police force? Where was it to get its protection services? At the time it seems to me that the McHenry County Sheriff's Department said it would step in and provide patrol services. At least, for the portion of Port Barrington that is in McHenry County.

How's it working out?

Pretty well for the off-duty sheriff's deputies who are earning $40.00/hour for donning their MCSD uniforms and taking their MCSD patrol cars and heading over to Port Barrington to "protect and serve."

How is it working out for Port Barrington? Does the agreement with the Sheriff's Department say that Port Barrington has no liability for any actions of a deputy who is working in their town?

What about liability for the Sheriff's Department? If the deputy is working over-time, is he working on contractual basis for Port Barrington and reporting that income as self-employed income and paying his income and self-employment taxes? Or does MCSD pay the deputy and incur payroll taxes, including workers compensation premiums and unemployment insurance premiums?

Somehow I don't think that $40.00/hour will meet the over-time pay scale? Do senior deputies get first call on the gravy train at Port Barrington?

Does a deputy work a full eight-hour shift there? How does MCSD assure itself that a tired deputy isn't showing up for MCSD duty, which would result in an increased liability risk from judgements made while fatigued?

And is a deputy heading over to Port Barrington driving a County-owned (maybe, like, a take-home) squad car? Who pays the maintenance, gas and other operating expenses? What if it gets wrecked in a chase out of Port Barrington?

Or does a deputy drive there in his own car and then patrol in a Port Barrington PD squad car?

What's going on with this deal?

Port Barrington P.D. – What’s up?

Something is cooking with the police department of the Village of Port Barrington. Or perhaps it might be more accurate to say that nothing may be cooking with that police department. It seems that the Village’s Police Department may have at least temporarily suspended its operations.

As I understand it, that department provided police service to residents only during daytime hours, and service during other hours was provided already by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department.

But the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department is now providing 24-hour service to the Village of Port Barrington.

A call to the Village Hall shortly after 4:00PM resulted in a claim that there had been no change in police services of its police department. Maybe I caught the person who answered the phone by surprise, or maybe no one had told her yet.

Village President Mike Head was very courteous when I spoke with him later this afternoon, but he said he had no comment at this time. He suggested that I call him again on Tuesday and that he might comment at that time. That’s a long time to wait for news.

No information was available to me from the Sheriff’s Department, other than it is now providing round-the-clock service. Surely, some request from the Village must have been made to the Sheriff’s Department for additional service. Did the Village initiate a request after terminating one or more of its police officers? Some event has triggered this change in daytime service.

More information to follow.