Well, he’s gone and done it again.
Without any prior public discussion, notice, or trustee vote, Village President Robert Abboud apparently has made a promise to the Barrington Area Council of Governments (BACOG) to house their offices within the Barrington Hills Village Hall. According to recent news reports (see BACOG cuts costs in hopes of keeping South Barrington), Abboud has offered BACOG rent-free use of at least three rooms in “his” Village Hall for up to several years. Reportedly, this measure will ease BACOG’s financial burdens, saving the organization at least $20,000 annually in rent and associated costs now incurred at its current location in downtown Barrington. Evidently, this move was spurred by South Barrington’s threat to break from BACOG because of its bloated agenda and (hence) budget.
And what do the taxpayers of Barrington Hills get in return? That remains to be seen, but with Abboud’s seeming generosity with our village resources, it’s questionable. Will Barrington Hills receive a dues reduction commensurate with the value of the rent and burden associated with housing BACOG? Although apparently appeased now (see South Barrington to stay in council), if South Barrington (or any other member) were eventually to withdraw from BACOG, will Barrington Hills be saddled with even higher dues, on top of this new housing burden? We like saddles in Barrington Hills, but this goes too far.
We assume, from Abboud’s promise to be a “lifeboat” in hard economic times, that his friends at BACOG have been promised free office space, electricity, natural gas, water, cleaning services and general office maintenance. How will payment for phone service, internet access, copier use, etc. be handled? Who will bear the liability or insurance costs for BACOG activities or events occurring within our village hall?
We expect that Abboud’s next move will be to ask his captive Trustees to “bless” this promise he made unilaterally at a future board meeting. Of course, we would be very surprised if a majority of his Board would dare oppose him, making the BACOG “deal” a virtual fait accompli.
There are many questions here that go beyond merely the economic terms of Abboud’s promise to BACOG. Is BACOG membership actually beneficial to the Village? In reality, what has BACOG truly accomplished for the taxpayers of Barrington Hills? Should the scope of BACOG’s mandate (and hence its financial burdens) be reduced? And, as one BHO commenter opined, has BACOG’s time come and gone? We already are living with too many taxpayer funded government bailouts.
The Observer will continue to look into this matter and keep residents informed, particularly if it ever appears on the agenda of our Village Board. For now, we can only wonder why our president has decided to give BACOG a free ride on the backs of Barrington Hills taxpayers.
– The Observer
Nobody has asked if BACOG is required to make a campaign donation in return for use of the Village Hall. I can’t imagine Bobbi would let this opporuntiy slip by. If so, BACOG would be advised to consult with Save 5 Acres on how to make a secret donation with everyone knowing. Nothing is free in B.H., but everything is for sale.
I can’t wait to see what sleepy, dopey and sneezy are going to say at the next Village meeting when they learn Snow White did not get their approval. Perhaps this was done in executive session.
Will “Schuman” be drafting the lease between BACOG and B.H.?
Is this guy for real? His comparison about charging BACOG rent for using the taxpayers’ village hall being like charging ourselves is completely ludicrous.
Using Abboud’s logic, he would let the mechanic who works on his Ford pickup to live in the basement of his own home rent-free too? After all, the mechanic has already provided him with a service which was beneficial to him.
If the Board of Trustees goes along with this, I hope the voters remember this at the next election. I echo the other comment supporting Trustee Gianopulos. He appears to be the lone voice of sanity coming out of then village hall these days.