The most recent Village Newsletter was delivered at the peak of the holiday rush, just a day or two before Christmas, in mailboxes crammed with holiday cards and gifts. As a result, many residents may have missed out on what can only be described as the most self-serving and insulting gaffe any elected official ever published in a Barrington Hills newsletter. Trustee Selman, in her finance and 2014 budget update, buried on page 5, wrote the following:
“The 2014 Budget is lean, with a reduction in legal expenditures and over contributions to the police pension fund that combined equal a total of over $200,000. It will work, as long as everyone behaves.”
We assume from her obtuse writing style that the $200,000 referenced represents savings to taxpayers as a result of efforts she personally had little or nothing to do with, but we’ll give her a pass on that. As for the caveat she used regarding everyone behaving, that’s another matter.
Karen Selman is the last person on the board to preach about behavior to residents based on her own misbehavior in the last three years. Though it’s a matter of record, we believe some of her acts of misbehavior warrant repeating.
In her 2011 campaign for office, Selman accepted a $5,000 campaign donation check made out to her personally, and then donated the money to her campaign committee under her own name as though she was the contributor. As a result of her actions and those of her fellow candidates running as “Save 5 Acres” that year, the Illinois State Board of Elections penalized their committee with a two-year probation period that ended just last October.
Upon election to the Village Board in 2011, she was ironically appointed to the position of overseeing and reporting Village finances to the board and residents. That hasn’t worked out well either.
At numerous Village Board meetings, Selman is routinely incapable of answering some very rudimentary questions regarding bills for approval. Her utterance of “I’ll have to get back to you on that” has become an all too frequent response. Clearly, Selman enjoys the position, but does not do her homework before meetings, or at other times when it matters, and that’s clearly poor behavior.
Most recently, besides the newsletter gaffe, in October, Selman stood alone in voting against approving an overdue agreement with our sworn police officers after years of very costly losing litigation. Had her peers sided with her, our Village would have continued to hemorrhage legal fees and accrue more back pay due to our police force. More on this can be read in “Oh no she didn’t!”
Based on her history, many may wonder why Selman would even discuss behavior in her newsletter message. It’s hard to tell, but we think we have the answer.
A handful of residents exercise their lawful right, sometimes frequently, to file FOIA requests seeking answers to what occurs behind the scenes in our Village government. Fulfillment of some of these requests becomes costly due to what many believe is unnecessary reliance on Village counsel and inefficiencies with Village Hall staff.
Regardless of the costs, Selman chose to advise thousands of residents via the newsletter to behave themselves for the sake of budgets. This was another ill-advised, obdurate move on her part, and frankly, it was downright dumb.
In his book Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “If your brains were dynamite, there wouldn’t be enough to blow your hat off.”
Based on everything we know now, Selman is clearly safe to wear hats anytime she wants. The bigger question, however, is if the ignition has already occurred, or when it will occur between now and when her term ends in fifteen months?
In the title of this editorial we asked, what was she thinking? Sadly, the answer seems to be, once again, she wasn’t thinking.
– The Observer
Spot on, Observer! Wonder who her Editor is, huh?
She is a real piece of work.. I was on a committee with her once and when I commented that we had other people that wanted to run.. she said it was tough.. she had picked the slate.. and when I said we live in a democracy (well a republic) she said NO WE DON”T and this is the slate.
Another Abboudite who believes they can rewrite the constitution, sadly she comes off as an anti American obese brainless idiot – one who is delusional in that she has the power to tell anyone what to do. You BEHAVE and stop squandering our tax money!
SHE WHO THROWS STONES . . . . . . .
Let’s not forget, BH tax payers through BH Board approval under former Pres. Abboud paid Village attorney, Burke-Warren approximately $200,000 to enforce the Village’s cease and desist order stating large scale commercial horse boarding activities on Oakwood Farm violated the Village’s Home Occupation Ordinance. Through Village attorney, Burke-Warren, the Village’s cease and desist order was upheld at both the Trial and Appellate Court level. (Oakwood Farm’s defense that it’s commercial boarding activities fell under the Village’s agricultural exemption was completely rejected by the trial and appellate court).
When it came time to enforce the $200,000 Cease and Desist Order the Village inexplicably switched its position through issuance of a letter in the name of Village building inspector, Donald Schuman. The Schuman Letter stated that Oakwood Farm was now magically home occupation compliant in contravention of the longstanding opinion of the Village Board, ZBA and Village attorney.
The Village paid Burke-Warren more money for legal work related to the Village’s sudden change of position even though Burke-Warren disagreed with it. For instance, attorney George Lynch in executive session requested that the Schuman letter be recanted by the Board. His request fell on deaf ears; including Selman’s ears.
It should be noted the Village issued the Schuman Letter to Oakwood Farm approximately 35 days after the $5,000 campaign donation (referenced in the Observer Article) was made to Selman. (There was a total campaign donation of $15,000 made by Oakwood Farm; $5,000 each to the Abboud endorsed team who called themselves “Save 5 Acres” comprised of Selman, Messer and Meroni. By disguising this donation, treating it as if Selman, Messer and Meroni donated the money themselves to “Save 5 Acres” Messer, Meroni and Selman were found in violation of IL. election law.) You must disclose the name of your donors Ms. Selman.
If Selman wants to discuss waste of Village financial resources, Selman needs to examine her own record and explain to residents at the next public meeting why the Village paid Burke-Warren in excess of $200,000 of resident tax payer money to shut down commercial horse boarding activities at Oakwood Farm when all it took was a letter (.47 cents postage) from someone at the Village Hall masquerading as Village Building Inspector Don Schuman to keep it open by blithely stating Oakwood Farm was magically “home occupation compliant” without providing any factual or legal basis.
It is time Selman (Gohl, Messer, Meroni) come clean with residents by making a public statement as to whether her (their) decision to support the representations contained in the Schuman Letter was influenced by the Oakwood Farm campaign donation or was this grotesque waste of Village financial resources simply a product of cronyism coupled with ignorance of our Village Ordinances.
From review of Selman’s record in office, it appears her article in the Village Newsletter, may have been simply Selman publicly admonishing herself.
. . . . . . . . . BETTER NOT LIVE IN A GLASS HOUSE.
She looks like aunt Bea!
What do you expect, When she was president or VP of the Barrington Hills Riding Club she got the club sued because she gave an ok to a lawn service crew to mow and clean up a trail( carte Blanche). They got a bill for $32000.00 and the club had no way to pay it. They sued the club and some Barrington Hills person had to pull strings to get them out of the law suit and get the bill reduced.
Spending OPM behind closed doors without consequences is a tough habit to break, but broken it was on April 9, 2014. It is now time for the piper to be paid.
What do you mean when refering to the April date, Carlos?
Jack O’Lantern – my apologies to all for the typo – the date should read April 9, 2013 – a significant date in the history of Barrington Hills.
Trustee Selman says the Village is making “over contributions to the police pension plan”. I assume by this, Trustee Selman means the Village’s contribution of money to the police pension plan is greater than what is actually required.
My question to Trustee Selman is why are Barrington Hills’ tax payers of today subsidizing Village tax payers of tomorrow by contributing more money to the police pension plan than is required? And you call this “lean” budgeting! C’mon man!
Wouldn’t the equitable course of action be for the Village to return these excess tax funds to residents for their retirement plans. Am I the only one who sees the blatant contradiction in Trustee Selman’s statement.
I look forward to hearing from Trustee Selman and other Observer readers in this regard.
This woman should be a clerk at Walmart. She doesn’t have the slightest idea of how badly she is hurting this village!
She was and still is the puppet of little Bobbie and marches to his tune. She was chosen for this position because she would be easily controllable and unable to think for herself.
This situation would be funny if it weren’t so recklessly dangerous. I think the end game is to make the village finances fail to aswage Bobby’s bruised ego.
God help us all.
Selman needs to do the honorable thing and resign. But her cohorts in the riding academy need her support so they will try to keep her active so they will keep some control.
Folks, this is all about control!