What's New On This Site?

Posted 5-23-08   Posted 6-6-08    Posted 6-20-08   Posted 7-21-08  Posted 2-1-09  Posted 3-8-09

 

A NEW WEBSITE FOR TOWN OFFICIALS

1. A new website has been created for the Barrington Planning Board, the Zoning Committee, the Code Enforcement Officer, and the BarringtonTown Board. It provides town offiials with an easier, "single page" access to important town maps, parcels, and vistas. It can be viewed at www.friendsofbarrington.com/pb.

Eventually we will create a direct link from his site to the new one. The two sites area already on the same server. On the new site you can click on a sector of a town map and view the underlying tax parcels....... VERY COOL. At another place you can click on a map and see vista photos taken from the location selected.  Eventually the site will include the same feature for "then and now" photos of historic sites and will include slide shows of properties on all of the town roads.

ENFORCING APPLICATION DEADLINES
AND REMOVING APPERANCES OF IMPROPER INFLUCENCE  BY INDIVIDUAL TOWN OFFICIALS OVER APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMITTEES

In its March 4th issue the Observer reported on the debate in the Barrington Town Board meeting of Feb. 25th on the question as to whether the town should extend the deadline to secure more candidates for the committee to make nominations to the new Ethics Board. The Observer article is available here.

In repsonse to this article, and to provide historical background on the issue, we have written a lengthy article outlining the way in which non-enforcement or inconsistent enforcement of application deadlines generates appearances of impropriety by town officials and placing this current debate in broader historical context.

The article lists the instances in which there was the appearance of manipulation of the applicant pool, and therefore improper influence over the final selection of candidates for town boards and committees by a minority on the Town Board. Indepth treatment was given to a couple of such instances: 1) the displacement of a Planning Baord member of long standing in Dec. 06 and 2) The selection of the Zoning Commtitee in the spring and summer of 2008.

The article recommends procedures for the securing of applicants to boards and committees which will avoid the appearance of improprities and move Barrington another step closer to ethical and open government.

Wth elections upcoming, in which we will elect two councilman and a Supervisor, it is important for more citizens to be aware of these recent developments within the Town Board...most of which, we believe, were part of the "fall-out" from the conflict over the Sturdevant Road PDD proposal, 2005-2008.

The article can be viewed by clicking here.

SCK   3-8-09