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Its bright motto may be “The city that looks to the future,” but Prospect Heights’ decision this week to close its police station to the public came after officials took a hard look at the financially troubled present.
The northwest suburban community of 17,000 residents also will shut down City Hall on Fridays because furloughs of public employees, including patrol officers, have left too few workers to staff the facilities.
“It’s sort of unheard of to close your Police Department 24 hours a day to the public,” said City Administrator Pam Arrigoni. “Surrounding communities are looking at reducing hours, too, just maybe not as drastically as we are.”
Although the closing in Prospect Heights, which faces a $330,000 budget shortfall this year, is striking, observers of municipal finances said the same bleak choices soon may become all too common in the area as local governments confront similar budget holes.
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