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Emergency Dispatch Consolidation

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Consolidation Process Background

At their regular meeting on October 20, 2016, the Village Board approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Village of Glenview to provide Public Safety (police/fire/emergency medical services) 911 dispatch services to the Village of Glencoe. This change was prompted by a State of Illinois law approved in June 2015 (Public Act 99-0006) that requires all communities with populations of less than 25,000 to consolidate their emergency telephone system functions. The mandate required the Village to complete consolidation no later than July 1, 2017 and the Village officially consolidated with the Glenview on June 6, 2017.

The recommendation from staff followed extensive review of options together with the Villages of Kenilworth, Northfield and Winnetka which determined that a partnership with Glenview would provide the best service delivery at the lowest cost. Prior to selection, Glenview was already dispatching emergency calls for the cities of Highland Park and Lake Forest as well as the Village of Lake Bluff, among others.

There are several important points for residents to keep in mind about consolidation:

  • Public Safety services will not change - Glencoe Public Safety Officers will continue to provide 24/7 police, fire and emergency medical services once dispatch services are consolidated in Glenview.
  • Glencoe no longer maintains a dispatch center in Village Hall. All calls for Public Safety services will be handled by Glenview dispatchers at their dispatch center in Glenview. 
  • Service levels will not change. Call answering and dispatching will continue to be provided at the highest standards that have been provided to our residents for many years. Glenview dispatchers participated in a rigorous training program to become familiar with Glencoe’s Public Safety Department operations to  ensure that residents continue to receive the highest quality 911 dispatch services. 
  • As a result of the consolidation, and likely the most noticeable change, there will no longer be a Public Safety presence in the Public Safety/Village Hall lobby 24 hours a day, seven days a week as existed before. Residents requiring walk-in Public Safety services outside regular business hours or on weekends will have access to phone systems in the north vestibule to connect directly to Public Safety dispatchers in Glenview and they will provide immediate assistance. To accomodate those unable to make it to Village Hall during regular business hours to make various payments, the Village has expanded our offering of online payments. Learn more through the Payment Center. 
  • The lobby will be open during regular business hours only and citizens will continue to be assisted by Public Safety staff members at the lobby desk.

The Village appreciates your patience and understanding and we will continue to provide public information in the coming months related to consolidation.

Learn more about the process and selection process from the documents below: