Due to the observance of the Martin Luther King holiday, Village Hall will be closed Monday. As a result, two regular and one special Village meeting will occur on Tuesday, January 20th, at Village Hall.
The Heritage and Environs Committee meets at 10:00 AM. A copy of their agenda can be viewed here.
The Roads and Bridges Committee meets at 3:00 PM, and a copy of their agenda can be viewed here.
Then at 7:00 PM there will be a special meeting of the Public Safety Committee to discuss the “Public Safety Answering Point Report” for a third time. That agenda can be viewed here.
“Roads and Bridges” is the largest line item expendure on VBH budget. Holding public meetings at 3:00 p.m. during the weekday when almost all VBH residents who finance these roads and bridges through excess real estate taxes are at work is meaningless. Meroni might have designed it that way to avoid public scrutiny of her obvious mismanagement of this segment of VBH government.
Rather than the same circle of people talking amongst yourselves at 3:00 p.m. why doesn’t Meroni as head of “Roads and Bridges” and Selman as head of “Finance” cobble together a legitimate report for taxpayers explaining why the goals of the prior 10 year VBH Capital Road Campaign which concluded on December 31, 2014 fell “so woefully short” of Save 5 Acres/SOS BOT super- majority promises.
[Puzzling, rather than insist accountability, Trustee Harrington stated VBH should just move forward with a new 5 year road construction/maintenance program without any examination of taxpayer funds applied for the prior 10 year plan]. If Trustee Harrington is protecting Save 5 Acres/SOS political teammates of Meroni and Selman at the expense of the VBH taxpayer, this would be a breach of Harrington’s fiduciary duty to taxpayers, an issue he has raised in prior BOT on unrelated matters.
The tax levy was increased 22% during the first 3 years of this project (2005-07) with the assurance by former VBH President and Save 5-Acres/SOS majority Board members that all tax revenue derived from this increase in VBH taxes along with existing expenditure levels would be ample sums of money to repair or replace every VBH owned road.
The question is were these increases in taxes used by former VBH President and Save 5 Acres/SOS Board majority for something other than VBH roads with the knowledge and aquiesence of SOS candidates, Meroni and Selman?
To meet the goal of 10 year project, VBH would have had to average 4.7 miles of repairs/replacement of roads per year beginning in 2005. This goal was only met during one year of the 10 year period without any notice by Meroni to the public that the project she was in charge of managing was miserably failing.
In 2015, Meroni requested and was granted a record increase of 47% in budget expenditure for roads (1.3 Million to 1.9 Million) without any accountability to VBH taxpayers. In reality, @4.8 Million Dollars more is needed to meet the 10 year road improvement plan.
If not defeated, expect Meroni at the trough next year and each year thereafter for another sizable heap of helping of tax revenue to cover up this “Save 5 Acres”/SOS debacle. Given the deplorable condition Selman and Meroni and Save 5 Acres’ cronies have left VBH road management, SOS or “Spend Our Savings” is a more appropriate label for their campaign committee and I expect every “spendthrift” in VBH will vote for them in April.
It is time Trustees, Meroni and Selman stop plucking resident taxpayers for more money each year. It is time a detailed report is furnished and residents are informed of the less than stellar results of this road maintenance project. Please Meroni save the Bobby cliche’s like increase in oil prices and labor as the cause of all VBH road woes. This comments only bring the roll of the eyes. Try a new appraoch like actual accountability to the taxpayer by proffering actual facts supported by credible documentation.
In other words, stop the “baloney” Meroni or get out of the way and let someone who is competent in finance and management takeover.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Roads & Bridges committee decided so graciously to hold their public meeting at 3 p.m. Who were they expecting to attend their meeting at that said hour? Obviously, a very strategic move to avoid the scrutiny of any further exposed mismanagement or public scolding. Likely that every spendthrift will head to the polling place come April to support it! Trustee Harrington’s priorities are not with the taxpayers, he is only interested in conducting endless studies with our tax dollars, and he most enjoys preaching to the choir and hearing himself talk! By voting with his cohorts to deny paying the attorney fees for the temporary counsel at every single board meeting time after time. In my view they are classically comical.
The report of the Capital Road campaign can’t be released because the majority of the monies were spent on Duda and the Sears litigation by their former boss. A revelation like this can’t be made public before next April’s election.
The continued fiscal appetites of Selman, Meroni, and Harrington to nibble way at any of the past reserves and defend the absolute increases should be cause enough for our residents to seek out qualified candidates this election cycle who have strong expertise in these areas. Transparency in government means that we should have access to all reports particularly one the consumes the most monies in the current budget expenditures. Being denied the information says it all.
I am getting seriously tired of everyone pointing out Sellmans and Maronies shortcomings. These people work for free and are dedicatied to helping the people of the hills. If truth be known they are over their heads in technical work that they are ill prepared to preform! At the very least they are trying to help the village out of the morass that “lil” Bobbie left us in. If you are really tired of their services VOTE them out.
SOS, problem is that Selman and Meroni are part of the “morass that “lil” Bobbie left us in.” Yes, it’s a work for free job and having a Village Administrator who is corrupted by who he serves only makes the job more difficult. Pointing out their “shortcomings” is necessary to vote them out. Roads and Bridges is a mess and well behind budgeted upkeep. The financial house led by Selman was managed irresponsibly. They are “over their heads” as you so aptly point out.
Worse, the corruption and special interest politics that they stonewall voting as a block is a disgrace and affront to every honest Barrington Hills resident.
Many residents are getting tired of the lies, innuendo, manipulation and general childishness of this VB, with the exception of Colleen Konicek. Meroni won’t have to work “for free” any longer after April!
The “Roads & Bridges Committee Meeting” Agenda for Jan 20, 2015, references a special meeting held on December 16, 2014 (2. [Vote] Minutes: 2.1 Roads & Bridges Committee Meeting- December 16, 2014) . Was that a previously announced public meeting, noticed in the Daily Herald and attended by the general public? I don’t recall that it was. What “minutes” could they possibly be referring to that requires a vote to approve, and was the meeting recorded? I am confused by this. I don’t believe I have ever seen “Committee Meeting Minutes” voted on and entered into the public record. What’s up with this?
It’s called smoke and mirrors. It’s the trade mark of Bobby and company. It’s worked well for them thus far, so why stop now?
I guess I must be alone in my thinking, but being a Trustee should mean that we hold one to a hire moral and ethical standard than the general public. As far as working for free, and being dedicated to our village, those are fine traits but it does not make up for lack of experience in these departments! If I cast blame it would be on our residents who vote them in, what do you expect? They vote the “party line” against the wishes of the majority of our residents time after time and oppose the President on every issue. As far as being tired of hearing about shortcomings, I’m tired of our budget shortfalls.
I”m a taxpayer, and it angers me that our dollars are not being spent prudently, that is the biggest issue in my mind. Roads are deteriorating daily, who is to blame; surely not residents?
I suggest we shake things up this year..
The fact that the reports are not released and disclosed, further reinforce the idea that there is something to hide.