In 2018, Barrington Village President Karen Darch explained a Nov. 6 referendum question seeking voter permission to enact a 1 percent local sales tax that elected officials said was needed to provide a steady income source for infrastructure improvements. (Bob Susnjara | Daily Herald Staff Photographer)
A Friday morning post crafted by Karen Darch read:
"Good morning,
We are in the final days before the election on November 8, and as you know, early voting has already begun. I hope you have had a chance to attend one of our Information Sessions about the Home Rule referendum, or to view the recorded virtual session on our YouTube channel.
Yesterday you should have received a special message from me titled "Home Rule: Reality vs. Speculation." (View the entire message here). In it I discussed some of the information we have been hearing about Home Rule in the community, and especially the idea that Home Rule will provide a "blank check" for your local officials to abuse its taxing power.
In short, no Village board members I have known over the years have wanted to pay more in taxes themselves, so they are always looking for ways to be fiscally prudent. In addition, in the past, Village boards have followed the will of the community in not approving revenue sources such as video gaming or cannabis sales. There is no reason to think these Board decisions would radically change under Home Rule.
For a better understanding of what this greater taxing authority might mean in Barrington, we have evidence right in our own backyard. Our neighbors, including Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, South Barrington, and Inverness, have decades of experience as Home Rule communities. Here are a few facts:
1) In South Barrington and Lake Barrington, the property tax levy has not been increased over the last several years.
2) Barrington Hills has had a property tax levy decrease over each of the past eight years.
3) Lake Barrington and South Barrington have the 1% Home Rule sales tax, which allows them to collect revenue from shoppers and diners at the Arboretum, Pepper Park, and other retail establishments and restaurants. We could do the same in the Village to help pay for our roads, sidewalks, and beautification efforts.
At the end of the day, the question that Village of Barrington residents have the power to decide is: How do the very real benefits of Home Rule stack up against the disproven speculation about abusive taxation?
For more information on Home Rule, please attend an Information Session on November 3 at Grove Avenue School (7:00 p.m.) or a virtual Zoom session on November 7 at 8:00 p.m. For more information, visit barrington-il.gov/homerule.
Thank you,
Karen Darch
Village President"
Indeed, Barrington Hills has been a Home Rule Community for decades. However, the property tax levy decreases enjoyed by residents has been the result of sound fiscal management by our Board of Trustees, our Commissions and Committee as well as our Village Staff over the last nine years.
In 2018, Karen Darch (et al) floated a referendum question on the November ballot seeking a local 1 percent sales tax, "…to provide a steady income source for infrastructure improvements." It failed to pass.
Now, a recent Chicago Tribune article states:
"The question on the ballot next month asks: "Shall the Village of Barrington, Illinois, become a home rule unit pursuant to Article VII, Section 6, of the Illinois Constitution?" Voters will be able to respond "yes" or "no." According to the village information on home rule, establishing the status would provide a "stronger local voice in decision-making" as well as creating "more diverse revenue streams that allow more of the revenue burden to be placed on nonresidents."
That revenue could come in the form of a home rule sales tax or amusement tax that could be used for road maintenance and other village improvements. Other villages, such as Arlington Heights, have generated thousands of dollars in home rule sales tax imposed on visitors to its Arlington Alfresco, a downtown outdoor dining venue."
A case of potato, potahto in four years? That's up to the voters to decide, but we thought we'd share this with our Barrington neighbors since their leader chose to cite our fine Village in her Home Rule spin.
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