More Money For Elmhurst Police, Less For Fire: Official

Elmhurst IL

02 November, 2021

6:50 PM

Description

ELMHURST, IL — An Elmhurst alderman said Monday he would like to find ways to cut costs in the fire department so that the city could spend more for police. "I do think there are opportunities to reduce expenditures in the fire department," Alderman Michael Honquest said at a City Council meeting. "In general, I'm concerned like a lot of people that what's going on in Elmhurst and around Chicago is a trend with a lot more crime." He said he wanted to look at creative ideas about how the city could maintain service levels in the fire department while reducing costs — an effort to provide more money to the police. "I guess my challenge is that it's never easy to look at a budget and take something out," Honquest said. He spoke during the fire department's presentation for next year's budget. Another alderman, Mike Brennan, asked how the department fared financially when it aided other fire departments in emergencies. In response, acting Fire Chief Bill Anaszewicz said the departments do not bill each other. "It's kind of an agreement to help each other out when the need is there," Anaszewicz said. "We try to make sure that no one abuses our services. If we get into that situation, I'll reach out to the chief of the other department to discuss, but right now there are no fees involved. It's under our own budget."