Barrington Hills board gives BACOG space to settle

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Updated: February 27, 2012 8:43AM

As villages look to cut budgets the Barrington Area Council of Governments found itself on the radar of South Barrington and others, so it went to its own books and cut “to the bone.”

One item BACOG decided it could cut was rent at its headquarters at 118 Applebee St. in Barrington, where it has resided for the last four years.

“We found we were homeless without Barrington Hills,” said Tower Lakes President and BACOG President Kathleen Leitner after Monday’s Barrington Hills Village Board meeting.

A divided Barrington Hills board rectified that situation Monday by voting to give two small rooms at its Village Hall to the regional planning and advocacy group.

In the end, the trustees voted to allow BACOG a two-year, rent-free lease with similar lease provisions offered to the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District, which also operates on village-owned land and pays its own expenses but no rent. BACOG officials said they plan to move in by July.

Trustees Harold “Skip” Gianopulos and Elaine Ramesh had argued the village should be compensated with $5,000.

“I do not think we should share access to that room,” said Gianopulos, referring to a storage room, filled with boxes and a computer server, across from the MacArthur Room, where Village Board meetings are held on the east end of Village Hall.

Ramesh referred to “unequal sharing of costs” with the other eight members of the coalition. She also supported a $5,000 compensation agreement.

However, Village President Robert Abboud argued the village doesn’t charge other agencies to use its facilities, such as the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the sheriff’s department.

Abboud stressed BACOG would pick up the extra costs associated with its operations, so its presence would not be a financial burden.

Renegotiations and the $5,000 payment, Abboud said, could damage the vitality of BACOG, which he said had provided “millions of dollars” of benefits to Barrington Hills over the years.

“I’m telling you it would crash BACOG,” Abboud told the board.

Leitner said the group already cut a geographic information systems analyst position and has just three part-time employees, the rest of the work being done by volunteers. She pointed out cuts already have resulted in a reduction in Barrington Hills’ dues from about $34,000 annually to $24,000.

“I don’t know if we could sell that,” said Leitner, referring to the $5,000 redirection of funds to the village.

Executive Director Janet Agnoletti said the $5,000, on top of the dues reduction, would have put a significant stress on the organization.

“It could be a deal-breaker at this point,” Agnoletti said.

In the end, just Gianopulos voted against the deal to offer the use of two offices to BACOG.

BACOG represents seven local towns and Barrington and Cuba townships. The towns are Barrington, Barrington Hills, Deer Park, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington and Tower Lakes. The group promotes its regional comprehensive plan, conservation, development and intergovernmental cooperation.

“We’re just trying to get some pegs in and get this tent up,” said Leitner after the meeting, adding she thinks the group could find new offices within a year. “We’re nomads no more.”