It’s all about the money

Now that early voting has begun in advance of the April 9^th election, Barrington Hills residents are in the process of vetting candidates for Village President and the three Village Trustee positions.  A comparison of incumbent President Bob Abboud and his “Save 5 Acres” slate to challenger Marty McLaughlin and trustee candidates Colleen Hannigan and David Stieper shows few differences in their positions on preserving five-acre zoning, protecting our natural environment or communicating better with residents.  Where they dramatically differ, however, is in their stands on the state of our Village financial situation.

Abboud & Company believe that “no increases in tax levies” and so-called “balanced budgets” equal wise fiscal stewardship.  However, a closer evaluation of the Village’s spending during Abboud’s eight years in office tells another story.

• Highest per capita property taxes.  According to the Daily Herald, “among 83 suburbs spread throughout six counties, Barrington Hills has the highest per capita property tax collection of any of the suburbs.”
• Exorbitant legal spending.  The Observer has previously compared Barrington Hills’ legal expenditures with those of two of our neighboring communities – Barrington and South Barrington, showing that our village pays out more to lawyers than those two towns combined.  But, let’s look at another nearby community.  Hoffman Estates serves a population more than 12 times greater than our Village’s 4209 residents.  Its operating and capital budget combined is 105 million dollars vs. Barrington Hills’ budget of just under 8.3 million dollars.  Yet, Hoffman Estates’ total legal spending is $502,000.  President Abboud has budgeted $784,000 for legal spending in fiscal year 2013.  Think about that – a town with 12 times as many residents to serve, with a budget 12 times as large as our Village spends 32% less than Barrington Hills does on legal services.
• Wasteful spending.  Whenever opponents challenge Abboud on spending, he usually asks, what do you suggest that we cut? Should we stop fixing the roads or reduce police protection? This sort of comment is disingenuous at best. The Observer has already documented the careless management of our tax dollars in instances ranging from the granting of essentially free office space in the Village Hall to BACOG, spending almost $95,000 on FOIA records management in 2012, or the squandering of over $1400 on Abboud’s presidential portrait.
• More waste.  There are so many more examples of taxpayer money being wasted.  Voters  should think about the nearly $4000 dollars that the Village paid last  summer for bringing in a tanker truck to water the landscape plants on the grounds of the Village Hall (despite the fact that there is a functioning irrigation system which we paid to maintain as well).  Or there’s the $129 the Village pays each month for doormat rental. Yes, $1500 of our money each year is spent renting doormats.  Taking a deeper look at our Village bills also shows $1559.00 spent annually on the calendar posted on the Village’s website.  And, the village-wide mailing to announce last month’s “Mug Club,” which only four residents attended, cost us $523.

It is abundantly clear to The Observer that an infusion of fresh leadership and vision is long overdue on our Village Board.  If voters select Bob Abboud and his hand-picked slate, higher spending and higher taxes are virtually guaranteed.  We urge residents to open their eyes to the real financial state of their village and to vote for the candidates who are not afraid to face facts and cut out the fat in Village spending.

–        The Observer