Tinley Cops Want New Cars and a Replacement for Thor

On Thursday, Tinley Park's police, fire and emergency management workers pitched their budget requests for next fiscal year to the village board's Public Safety Committee.

We'll be posting the different departments' requests through the day.

The committee will take their recommendations to the full board in an all-day budget meeting on March 24. The new budget will start May 1 and run until April 30, 2012.

Here's what the police department asked for:

Budget Request: $14,817,566, a 2.1-percent increase over this year

Capital Requests: $337,670 (the biggest requests were $168,000 for six new squad cars and $43,000 for two new unmarked vehicles)

Although the department is asking for six new Crown Victoria squad cars to replace aging vehicles, the request would have been for 11 to 14 new vehicles if some retirements and disability leaves hadn't kept the cars off the road so the department could squeeze a few more years out of them, Chief Michael O'Connell said.

"Overall, our whole goal from May 1 of this (fiscal) year, was to stay in the black, stay under budget," O'Connell said.

As part of a village-wide hiring freeze, the police department was capped at 62 officers, with a list of five or six new hires named to come in as existing officers retire. Village Manager Scott Niehaus said he green-lit the top three new hires because the officers they're replacing are very close to their last day with the force.

He said the village has the budget to handle if the new hires come in before the retiring officers go.

"If there's a little bit of overlap while we carry over these three and the others aren't gone, so be it," Niehaus said.

Niehaus said he expects the rest of the five or six possible retirees to finish their careers over the year.

One retiring officer who might not immediately be replaced is six-year veteran of the force, Thor.

Thor, the department's K9 dog, will be leaving the department within 18 to 24 months, police said. A new, fully trained police dog with handler training and basic equipment will come to $14,038, with additional materials for the human officer and the K9 squad car bringing the total to replace Thor to $21,345.

The Public Safety Committee recommended budgeting the money, but not to spend it immediately. If the full board goes with this plan, in November they'll look at the K9 situation again (see if Thor has retired yet, see if the price is still the same, etc.) and then decide whether or not to spend the money.

Depending on when Thor retires, this could make a gap of a few months between police dogs. O'Connell said the department could live with this gap, but that he would prefer not to.

Come back at 11 a.m. to see the fire department and emergency management agency's requests.

See from earlier this week.