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player ready...Ahead of the November election where the village of Barrington has a referendum on going home rule, officials have begun hosting a series of community forums to make a push for support and to get feedback from residents and would-be voters.
Village Manager Scott Anderson addressed attendees of the Sept. 28 forum at Barrington Middle School- Station Campus, explaining that Barrington being home rule would give more local control to area voters. He said the move offers more freedom to Barrington residents to better control their own local taxes.
“Home rule is a type of government that gives municipalities greater authority to shape local solutions for local issues,” he said.
He also said being home rule is a good way to get more tax revenue out of visitors, because the local government is able to establish from whence those taxes originate.
“They can help ease the burden from the property tax,” Anderson said.
Around 50 people attended the Wednesday night meeting, and for the most part seemed supportive of home rule.
Area officials support the measure and are trying to sell voters on the benefits of home rule.
With home rule, Barrington would join the municipalities that have more leeway to set laws — including tax laws — without supervision from the state, officials explained. The village leaders believe they can get nearly $1 million in annual revenue from tourists, visitors and other discretionary spenders. The decision, village leaders said, will not impact property taxes.
Attendees were told that only 219 municipalities in Illinois are home rule – with only ones having populations of more than 25,000 people eligible to seek the status. Advocates of home rule have argued that it gives local residents and boards a good opportunity to tax and spend local taxes in the best, most efficient way possible without state interference.
The Sept. 28 forum was the second in the series of scheduled public meetings. The next will be Oct. 11 at the Roslyn Road School, according to a village schedule.
At least one resident spoke at the forum, stating she was already pleased with the way the village currently operates fiscally.
“We do run a very lean operation,” she said. “We run as lean as we can, delivering high quality services.”
Anderson said Barrington is already a full-service town – without home rule – and delivers all the goods and services others do, including water, wastewater, snow removal and more. So village leaders believe the suburb should have control over tax policy.
“This board controls 7% of the tax bill (as it is),” he said. “The village would abide by the same tax caps as it is without the home rule capability.”
But, with home rule authority and a slight increase in sales and hotel tax revenues, the town could raise enough money for other local enhancements like a bike path improvement project, among other things.
He suggested the revenue could bring in nearly $1 million per year without much local impact.
“It would be paid by guests entering the village and enjoying what the village has to offer,” he said.
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.