Joliet council weighs security guard contract as police chief warns of staffing shortfall

The council considered an authorization for security services at City Hall with Universal Protection Services LP (doing business as Allied Universal) and probed whether a permanent police presence would be preferable.

City Manager Beth said the contract is the same arrangement the council approved last year to maintain a security presence at the front desk and to address incidents that affected staff comfort and safety. She noted she had reached the $25,000 approval threshold for the vendor and needed council approval to continue the contract.

"We would love to have a police officer here," Beth said, "but right now we have 261 police officers and we don't have the bandwidth to put someone in." Chief Dustin Evans told the council that while the department's roster number is 261, that figure includes officers in the academy and field training, and the department would like to be closer to 285 to staff additional special-services positions and permanent posts such as City Hall. He said retirements over the last two years have outpaced hiring and that vacant specialized roles (detectives, tech unit) limit redeployment.

Councilmembers proposed options including a 3–4 hour union overtime slot for an officer at City Hall or rotating coverage drawn from detectives and command staff. The chief cautioned that union slots do not always fill and that academy and field-training timelines mean newly hired officers are not immediately available for specialized assignments.

Council discussion referenced a 30-day out clause in the vendor contract and the city manager said the city could cancel once police staffing permitted; staff also said the guard is armed and has required paperwork.

The item was discussed in the consent/contract portion of the agenda and council members asked staff and the chief to explore whether a partially unionized or rotated police presence could be feasible as hiring progresses.