Monica Knigge (center) organized a sit-in protesting the outsourcing of the village's dispatching services.

Monica Knigge (center) organized a sit-in protesting the outsourcing of the village’s dispatching services. She is joined by her daughter Kelly Knigge Kledzik (left) and friend Bonnie DeBoer, along with dozens of other friends, family members and local residents. (Kristy MacKaben, for the Tribune / February 19, 2014)

Wauconda's 911 call center may be closed by this summer, but some residents are putting up a fight.

Residents jammed village hall for a board meeting Tuesday. The topic wasn't on the agenda, but the previous week, Village Administrator Doug Maxeiner had announced his recommendations to outsource dispatching services to Lake Zurich, so residents, many wearing red to support the dispatchers, spoke out on the issue.

"At the start of the meeting, there was estimated to be two to three dozen persons standing within the room without a seat. This number continued to increase through the first 30 minutes of the meeting and there were additional members of the public in attendance in the lobby," Maxeiner said, explaining he took responsibility for not moving the location of the meeting to the high school where there was more room. "In a quick review of the circumstances, I determined that I should have made the recommendation to the mayor to recess the meeting and move it to the high school cafeteria, which was on standby for this purpose."

The outcry at Tuesday's meeting came three days after a sit-in at the police station.

Dozens of residents staged a protest Saturday at the Wauconda police headquarters, after hearing about the plans to outsource 911 dispatching services.

Monica Knigge, wife of former Mayor Mark Knigge was the catalyst behind the sit-in. Holding signs stating "Safety before Savings" and "Keep Jobs in Wauconda", Knigge, often flanked by friends, family members or village residents, sat on the floor in the police headquarters from noon until midnight.

"It just came to me this morning," Knigge said the day of the sit-in, explaining she was upset about Maxeiner's recommendations. "I just want to make a difference."

Maxeiner had announced that outsourcing the dispatching services to Lake Zurich could save the village $2.1 million over five years.

If dispatching was outsourced, the annual cost to the village would be about $270,000 compared to $674,000 the village spends annually to keep the 911 center in-house.

Shortly after he was hired in November, Maxeiner began researching options for the dispatching center. Maxeiner said he was continuing research started by the prior administration, which began in spring of 2013.

The Wauconda board of trustees will vote on the issue Feb. 25, and if approved, dispatching services could be outsourced by summer, officials have said.

"Just looking at it strictly from a financial standpoint, the village can save over $2.1 million," Maxeiner said, indicating the village is projected to start operating at a deficit next year. "This is one method we have to reduce costs of those services. This is one step to becoming a little bit leaner, a little bit more sustainable."

Knigge and other residents; however, say there are other ways to balance the budget.

A few years ago, the village spent close to $500,000 to upgrade the dispatching center with hopes of providing services to other communities, they say.

Before the upgrades were made, voters approved a referendum question asking for a tax increase to fund the project. Wauconda dispatches for Tower Lakes and Lakemoor, amounting to about $281,000 in revenue annually, but some residents feel village officials should have tried harder to find additional communities to bring in more money.

"To me, that's not a full and complete study," said Knigge's daughter, Kelly Knigge Kledzik, who is often outspoken on village issues. "We could be outsourcing to other towns."

Residents at the sit-in said they are worried about safety, and also are upset that 10 full-time and two part-time dispatchers will be laid off.

"I just think it's ridiculous," said Bonnie DeBoer of Wauconda. "It's a safety issue and people are going to lose their jobs."

Village officials informed the dispatchers' labor union representatives last week about the research findings.

Peter Balderas, a field representative for the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council, said he will continue to advocate for the dispatchers and convince village officials that outsourcing isn't the right answer.

"We believe it's an officer safety issue," said Balderas. "There's citizen contact and the dispatchers know who they're talking to. We're in the middle of negotiations. They have to come to the board to vote in favor of outsourcing. It's up to us to convince the fine citizens of Wauconda to support us so they don't outsource the dispatchers."