Kendall County Sheriff seeks take-home squad cars for patrol deputies at cost of $625,000

YORKVILLE -- Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird is seeking 15 new patrol cars in his Fiscal Year 2023 budget.

Five of these would be to replace aging vehicles, but the additional 10 cars would be to increase the size of the patrol fleet and allow deputies to take the cruisers home.

“It’s a benefit to the officer and it’s a benefit to the community,” Baird told the Kendall County Board during budget hearings on Sept. 7.

Deputies will be able to respond to emergencies directly from their homes, Baird said, and the practice would increase police visibility throughout the county.

Assigning a deputy his own vehicle allows the officer to work more efficiently, Baird said, with a familiar set of surroundings and eliminating the need for bringing along and then removing items from the squad car at the beginning and end of every patrol shift.

The $625,000 cost for the additional 10 patrol cars was part of a $2 million request for capital spending presented to the county board by Undersheriff Bobby Richardson.

Other items on the capital spending wish list include $51,378 to replace a worn-out van for transporting prisoners, $180,000 for upgrading the jail’s holding area for booking arrestees, $230,000 for replacing jail door locks and $53,184 for each of the five replacement squad cars.

County board members generally had a favorable reaction to Baird’s plan for the take-home squad cars.

“This will expedite response time,” board member Brian DeBolt said. “I think its a great idea.”

“It’s good to see a squad car in the neighborhood,” board member Dan Koukol said.

Board member Amy Cesich noted that the idea is not new and might have been implemented incrementally.

“It could have been done gradually so it wouldn’t have been such a hit to the budget,” Cesich said.

“This idea has kicked around for a long time,” Baird said, noting that neighboring counties including Kane, Grundy and LaSalle allow deputies to take their squad vehicles home.

The practice would help the sheriff’s office attract and retain deputies, Baird said.

“We have a problem keeping deputies,” Baird said. “I’ve been down 20 to 25% on the road all year.”

The sheriff’s patrol division is authorized for 44 deputies, but 11 of those posts currently are vacant, Richardson said.

Three corrections officers from the county jail will be transferring to the patrol division after completing police academy training, along with two new hires who are expected to join the force, Baird and Richardson explained later.

Baird said that with supply chain difficulties, it likely will take a year to acquire and properly equip the new squad cars. He said that four vehicles that were approved last year have only just arrived.

The operating budget submitted by Baird and Richardson for the sheriff’s office totals slightly more than $12 million and covers the patrol division, county jail, courthouse security and record-keeping.

The spending plan now goes to the county board’s finance committee for further review. The county’s 2023 budget year begins on Dec. 1.