Since first installments of Cook County property taxes are due today, it seemed appropriate to have a look at how neighboring villages have forecasted their legal expenses for 2013 compared to Barrington Hills. The Observer obtained 2013 fiscal year budgets from Barrington and South Barrington, and the following data reveals what we uncovered:
Fiscal 2013 | Total Budget | Legal Budget | Percent of Total |
Barrington |
$35,545,461 |
$255,500 |
0.72% |
South Barrington |
$11,816,950 |
$360,000 |
3.10% |
Barrington Hills |
$8,281,305 |
$784,500 |
9.47% |
Data sources: Barrington, Barrington Hills and South Barrington’s 2013 Fiscal Year budgets
Barrington’s legal budget seemed low, but then again as The Observer surveyed these and other nearby villages, most seemed low in comparison to our own Village’s historic legal spending. However, a phone call to the village confirmed that after the Canadian National battle, Barrington only spends “between $250,000 and $300,000” a year for legal services.
South Barrington’s budget presents a better benchmark for comparison to ours. The population is roughly equal to Barrington Hills and much of the village remains relatively low-density zoning. Yet South Barrington budgets and spends less than half what our Village does annually, which is troubling.
Very soon, residents will be receiving President Abboud’s first political flyer in the mail to jumpstart his campaign for reelection, otherwise known as the 2013 Winter/Spring Village newsletter. In his protracted message to residents, he refers to Village taxes using words such as “levy” and “budget” when justifying his financial record only back to a point in time that suits his purposes – 2007. However, Abboud took over our Village reins in 2005.
A budget is just a number, but Abboud continues to use it to his advantage. The simple fact is our Village continues to budget and spend more taxpayer dollars on legal fees that Barrington and South Barrington combined which strongly suggests Abboud has inflated our legal budgets for years. Meeting an inflated budget number is not an achievement; it’s wasteful spending of resident’s tax dollars and most residents now know this is a serious problem for our community.
Albert Einstein once wrote, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” The Observer believes residents deserve new thinking on our Village Board.
– The Observer
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