On Tuesday, the Armington Village Board had a meeting to discuss the future of their police department. The cause for this decision on the future of the police department was the change in the way Tazwell county bills communities for 911 dispatch service. They used to bill communities based on the number of 911 calls handled from that community. Now they are billed on a flat rate, regardless of the number of calls. The 911 dispatch bill for Armington went from $1,800 annually to $8,300 annually with the change. With this drastic increase in cost, a decision to either keep or cut the police department had to be made. 

Armington’s Village Board requested that their residences provide them with their opinion of the situation prior to the meeting on Tuesday night. At the meeting, the board went through many letters and emails from Armington residences and according to the Armington Village President, Eric Boesdorfer, “The majority of them wanted some kind of police coverage.” It was clear that residents would prefer that the Armington Police Department would stay. Heavily considering these opinions, the board had their meeting on Tuesday night and made their decision. 

The board decided that they will plan to continue using the Armington Police Department as their police coverage. Although they are continuing the use of the Armington Police Department, the village board will also look into how the cost would vary if they were to get a contract with another local agency. If they were able to find a local agency that would be willing to negotiate a contract, they would then look at what the most cost-effective solution would be for the village. 

Armington, a village of around only 325 residents, only needs three police officers to patrol the village. The drastic change from around $1,800 annually to $8,300 annually causes an issue that cannot go unaddressed. President Boesdorfer said, “We don’t want to lose the police department or the coverage, but we’ve got to do what’s best for the town. We’re trying to find ways to fund that extra $6,000 or so a year.” A main problem that Boesdorfer sees is the lack of sales tax generating businesses in the village, right now there are not any of them. 

The Armington Police Department, located right next to the post office, didn’t see much action in 2020. Lack of crime in Armington was a big reason as to why the fees for the police department services were so low when communities were still charged based on how many emergency calls they made. The fees being changed to a flat rate throughout Tazwell County heavily impacts the financial structure of Armington. “It’s a small community with a lot of older people, so we don’t have a lot of problems,” Boesdorfer said. 

Issues with the Armington Police Department have been seen in the past. From 2006 to 2009, the Minier Police Department had provided police services to Armington through an intergovernmental agreement. Ongoing conflicts between the Minier Police Department and the Armington Village Board led Police Chief Daryl Wesloh to recommend that the agreement be dissolved. Who knows, maybe if things would have worked out twelve years ago, Armington could still be in an agreement with Minier. 

The Armington Village Board’s decision to keep the police department, at least for now, definitely met their residents’ requests. Although they are satisfying their residents, a solution must be made. With the police officers already making 14% less than the national average, there probably isn’t room for adjustment there and with no extra income, something has to be changed to account for the increased cost of 911 services. The good news is that Armington Village President Eric Boesdorfer wants what is best for the village.