The new Orland Park budget approved this week will focus village resources on police force improvements and hiring across departments, taking steps Mayor Jim Dodge says will correct errors made by the previous administration.
The board also approved a property tax levy increase of 3.75% and signed off on a Dick’s Sporting Goods being added to the vacant Sears space at Orland Square mall.
The village expects to spend $236 million and receive $201 million in revenues in 2026. The Police Department will receive a large portion of new funding to hire eight officers and one Freedom of Information Act clerk for an increase in requests for body camera footage, according to the village budget presentation.
The department is also expected to benefit from incorporation of artificial intelligence and data analytics to predict and prevent certain crimes, and the department’s structure will be taken under review “to develop a model which meets the community’s service expectations,” officials said.
In October, Orland Park police touted its drones program, where drones are deployed to reduce emergency response teams, as well as the recruitment of therapy dog Holly to its ranks. The village budgeted for the continuation of both programs and for another therapy dog to be trained to provide emotional support to village staff, crime victims and community members.
Residents can also expect a beefed up Emergency Management Agency, renamed from the all-volunteer Emergency Services and Disaster Agency.
The agency aims to maintain a roster of 60 part-time, on-demand employees to work a minimum of 120 hours per year. In addition to being called on in emergencies, workers will help with security at events, which is now outsourced. An emergency and events staffing coordinator will be hired as the agency’s only full-time position.
The budget allows for hiring three public works maintenance employees, one parks and recreation maintenance worker, one parks program coordinator whose role will include bringing in new sponsorships, one village engineer, one village manager’s office performance analyst, one content creator/writer to help develop a new website and one development services advocate.
Several trustees questioned the need for so many new positions, though others laid blame on the previous administration for failing to invest in workers. Expenditures for the village’s 2025 budget totaled $276 million.
Orland Park Trustee William Healy, right, speaks during a Village Board meeting Dec. 1, 2025. (Olivia Stevens/Daily Southtown)
“The hiring is just way, way a lot,” Trustee William Healy said.
Healy said he understands the need for more police and development staff, but said the village should limit adding positions elsewhere.
“Health insurance and pensions just keep rising and rising,” Healy said. “I would like to take a call, an appeal to the rest of the board to cut back on payroll by half.”
Healy recommended budgeting for the same number of positions over several years, rather than hiring 18 new full-time employees in 2026.
Trustee John Lawler defended the hiring boost, saying he chose to seek a board seat earlier this year after noticing a decrease in quality services for residents.
“I also felt that we had invested some funds in the wrong places,” Lawler said. “Yes, we are hiring a lot of people, and it is a big expense and an increase, and we are going to hold staff accountable to see results.”
The budget was ultimately approved 5-2, with Healy and Trustee Cynthia Katsenes voting no.
The concert venue at Orland Park’s Centennial Park West. (Village of Orland Park)
The village plans to invest in data-driven studies to ensure resources are allocated efficiently. Village Manager George Koczwara said Centennial Park West in particular will be scrutinized, after he said it was approved without a strategic operating plan.
Dodge, before entering office, was critical of spending on the 12-acre concert venue adjacent to the larger Centennial Park that includes a 3,200-square-foot performance stage, and promised to evaluate its use.
“This is going to help us set the future for Centennial Park West,” Koczwara said.
Dick’s Sporting Goods
After creating a tax increment financing district as an incentive, the village approved an agreement with Dick’s Sporting Goods to fill the long-vacant Sears store at Orland Square.
Construction must begin construction on the retail space, which will include a climbing wall, an indoor batting cage, a golf simulator, yoga classes, a juice bar, a running track and an outdoor athletic field, by May 31, 2027.
The Dick’s Sporting Goods store at Orland Park Place shopping center in Orland Park in June 2025. (Mike Nolan/Daily Southtown)
The village and Dick’s Sporting Goods must close on the deal by Feb. 27 and the House of Sports concept store must be open to the public by March 31, 2029.
The village agreed to provide $6 million for the acquisition of the existing Sears space in the mall as well as reimburse up to $800,000 through the TIF after Dick’s told officials it would need financial support to open there.
“(For) this board and prior boards, there’s always been a question about what to do with that at the mall,” Dodge said to representatives of Dick’s Sporting Goods. “The kind of success you’ve had with this format, the location, we’re all pretty optimistic about it.”
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/orland-park-budget-18-news-hires/
