The villages of Rosemont and Elmwood Park are set to join the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center in 2027, providing an opportunity for savings for Oak Park.
WSCDC, also referred to as WestCom, is responsible for dispatching police, fire and emergency medical services to Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park.
According to Chief Financial Officer Kevin Bueso, the net savings for the village will be about $500,000 next year. WSCDC has also implemented a new cloud-based system that will make savings even greater once it is taken into account.
Village Manager Kevin Jackson said Oak Park has been working to expand WestCom for several years and “the work is still not done.”
“We intend to continue pursuing expanding that consortium to continue to reduce our costs and create efficiencies, so that’s an exciting milestone,” said Jackson.
Village President Vicki Scaman called the expansion a “big win” as River Forest President Cathy Adduci, Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins and Scaman have been engaging in conversations about this expansion for a long time.
“We need to see collaboration across the board in order to weather some of these financial challenges,” said Scaman. “All of our governmental bodies are feeling this across the greater region, not just in Oak Park, and so sharing costs and partnering is a strategy that I am absolutely committed to.”
Scaman said collaborating across communities is a strategy she hopes to use in a variety of other areas like economic vitality, sustainability and housing.
WestCom is currently located at 400 Park Ave. in River Forest. However, Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens said they are working with the dispatch center to relocate their processes and services to Rosemont.
The Oak Park Village Board will discuss and vote on a resolution to approve an Intergovernmental Agreement for the expansion of the WSCDC at the meeting on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.
