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Archive for the ‘Communications Committee’ Category

The Barrington Hills Observer celebrates two year anniversary

Posted in Communications Committee, Heritage and Environs Committee, OP/Ed, Plan Commission, Riding Club Commission, Village Board, Zoning Board on December 9, 2011| 5 Comments »

The Observer was launched two years ago today with the main objective of providing a timely news resource specifically tailored to Barrington Hills residents.  The original concept for this resource was to offer a compendium of articles from multiple news sources for those residents who are interested or involved in issues that affect our Village.

Over time, due to the lack of proactive straightforward communications from our Village government, periodic commentaries became a necessary and integral element of our portfolio of content, continuing our mission to keep residents fully apprised of what is truly occurring in our Village government.  Scores of subscribers and readers prompted this by providing insightful topical suggestions, resulting in nearly 400 posts since our founding.  This has allowed The Observer to grow significantly in readership.  We thank those of you who genuinely care about our Village for your participation and support.

Today, The Observer is pleased to announce that we will be bestowing a special award annually to the most deserving elected or appointed official in our Village – “The Rotten Apple of the Year Award.”  This honor will awarded each December to the individual(s) who have demonstrated over the past year that they have not acted in the interests of what they were elected or appointed to do by Village residents, have abused their powers in office, or have broken campaign promises.

Readers are welcome to submit their nominations (confidential or revealed identity if chosen), to The Observer by submitting a comment to this article or via direct email to BHObserver@gmail.com. Please include the name of the individual(s) and the reasons you feel they should be considered.  Those new to The Observer may want to read prior editorials (see Editorials) before making a nomination choice since this year there is quite a stable full of candidates to choose from.

The deadline for nominations is midnight Wednesday, December 14.  The editorial board of The Observer will then deliberate and announce the award winner(s) on Friday, December 16 after due consideration of reader input is considered.  In addition to the award winner(s) announcement, a summary of all nominees and the reasons for their consideration will be included.

We look forward to your suggestions and participation.

-The Observer

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Another Village communications fail – BACOG water testing

Posted in BACOG, Communications Committee, Lake, McHenry, OP/Ed, Village Board, Well Water Quality on November 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Nearly all homes in Barrington Hills rely on their own wells for their daily household water requirements.  Homeowners sometimes take for granted that their water is free from harmful substances and is safe to drink.  However it is us, the private well owners, who are responsible for periodically testing our water for contaminants.  The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) recommends annual testing for coliform bacteria and nitrates, and BACOG (the Barrington Area Council of Governments) has been assisting residents by conducting a semi-annual private well-water testing program.

Last Monday, November 14, was the drop-off deadline for water samples for the latest test program, but Village residents were likely unaware of that, once again due to the woeful lack of communications emanating from our Village Hall.

 

Despite the fact that President Abboud regularly gives lip service and photo opportunities (right) to the importance of BACOG facilitating testing our groundwater supply, there was no mailing to residents to notify them of the water test program dates and no notification posted on any of the Village websites.  There is a brief mention of the BACOG test program buried in the latest Village newsletter, but that, unfortunately, was too little and too late for the majority of residents.

It is baffling why our Village wasn’t more proactive in encouraging residents to participate in this program.  Surely it couldn’t be the cost of even a simple post card mailing since the Village has sent out correspondence between newsletters informing residents on varied topics like roadside trash pick-up events, the 2010 Census, McHenry County property tax bills and even the lighting ordinance.  But in this case, a fundamental Village resource issue like well water testing doesn’t deserve a mailing to each and every household by our Village?

The Observer hopes that the Village will do a better job promoting the BACOG test program in the future as well as other resources available to residents.   In the meantime, residents can visit http://bacog.org/watertesting.html to sign up for notification of next year’s testing events.  In addition, Lake and McHenry Counties offer year round well water testing.  For more information go to:

http://www.co.mchenry.il.us/departments/health/Pages/EHlabservices.aspx

http://www.lakecountyil.gov/Health/want/Pages/WaterWells.aspx

     – The Observer

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Fall 2011 Village newsletter published

Posted in Communications Committee, Newsletter, Village Board on November 6, 2011| 1 Comment »

Link: http://www.barringtonhills-il.gov/newsletter/2011Fall.pdf

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Brinker Road to close November 7-14 for culvert repairs

Posted in Communications Committee, Community Alerts, Cook on November 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Brinker Road Closure
According to the Cook County Highway Department, Brinker Road will be closed between Otis Road and Algonquin Road (IL Rte 62) from November 7th through 14th for culvert repairs.  Since this is a well-traveled Village road, residents should plan to alter their commute accordingly for this period of time.

It is unknown if the Village plans to issue any announcement of the closure via the numerous means of communication it has available.   However, The Observer is committed to keeping  residents fully informed of any changes due to delays or early completion of this Village road project.

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Abboud to Barrington Hills residents: Keep your mouths shut and your window blinds open at all times!

Posted in Communications Committee, OP/Ed, VBHPD, Village Board, Village President on October 28, 2011| 3 Comments »

"I encourage you to continue to communicate directly with me and the Trustees. I invite you to attend our regular Board and committee meetings and get involved." - Bob Abboud

“I encourage you to continue to communicate directly with me and the Trustees. I invite you to attend our regular Board and committee meetings and get involved.” – Bob Abboud

Just when you thought communications couldn’t get any worse in the Village (see Monkeying around with Village communications), they apparently did earlier this week.  Our Village Board has altered its policy on how residents can speak during the “Public Comment” portion of Village board meetings.

Though (suspiciously) not announced in the published agenda before the meeting, one of the first items discussed at this month’s board meeting was a motion to move “Public Comment” from the beginning of board meetings to the end.  In some cases, residents might now have to wait until midnight (or later) to be heard.  In addition, resident comments are limited to three minutes or less.  The motion was passed by a margin of 6-1, and clearly some objections were expected from residents given the multiple armed police officers assigned to this meeting.

We’re not surprised by these draconian measures.  At recent meetings, residents have asked pointed questions of our Village leaders, touching on their own actions and motives on matters affecting our Village.  Because answers are not forthcoming, and some commitments by the board go unfulfilled, there is a growing frustration among residents.  Clearly some board members feel that making residents sit for hours waiting for their turn to speak will dissuade them from public participation.  That remains to be seen.

At the same October board meeting, President Abboud mentioned that the Village now is equipped with surveillance equipment capable of peering into residents’ properties.  This was disclosed during discussion of a private Village residence in need of maintenance  (see Barrington Hills leaders spar with homeowners).  As reported,  “Abboud (also) suggested a building inspector be on hand and ‘it might be time to test out our whiz-bang optics’ to view into the property to see if there are code violations.”

Whiz-bang optics?  Do these optics allow inspectors to peer through windows into homes from the roadside, looking for unapproved alterations or construction under way by residents?  Is this a productivity initiative to streamline checklist inspections for residents who have applied for permits, so that inspectors never have to leave their cars?

The contrast here is glaring.  Our elected officials do not want to be questioned by concerned taxpayers, yet they apparently can peer into our properties at any time with  “whiz-bang” optics.  It seems our leaders have lost sight of those who have privacy and free speech rights (citizens) and those who have obligations of transparency (elected officials).

This isn’t the Village governing we expected when we moved here, is it?

–      The Observer

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