Clarendon Hills manager thought police compensation merger would mute Social Security issue

Updated: March 11, 2013 11:38AM

CLARENDON HILLS — Village Manager Randy Recklaus said the Social Security issue that killed a proposed merger of police departments with Hinsdale first became known in November of December 2012.

“We thought the total compensation package would be enough to make up for that, but in the end it wasn’t,” Recklaus said. “Social Security is very complicated, and there’s a lot that it covers, such as disability and dependents. We had numerous communications with the Social Security office, trying to get information and work this out.”

In Clarendon Hills, officers continued paying into Social Security when the federal government offered a one-time opt-out in 1983; Hinsdale police have not paid into Social Security since that time. With a consolidated department, Clarendon Hills officers would lose at least some of their Social Security benefits.

Despite the major commitment by staff from Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills put into trying to make it work, Recklaus believes it was a worthwhile effort.

“It’s never been done before, so there was a lot there was no way for us to know when we first started the process,” he said.

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