GOAL
Efficient and effective delivery of the variety of
community services needed and used by residents and businesses of the BACOG
area.
OBJECTIVES
Insure
region wide health services that are of high quality and cost effective through
cooperation with appropriate organizations and agencies. Our area hospital,
Good Shepherd, established since the 1975 Comprehensive Plan, was an objective
of the earlier plan. Satellite facilities are part of the health care trend,
and a facility has been proposed for the Park Foods site in Barrington.
Insure
the availability of high‑quality, cost effective educational services, which
will enable all area residents to achieve their full potential. Recent approval
of a $19 million referendum has added a new school north and south and an
addition to the Priarie Middle School. An additional $69 Million referendum to
upgrade area grade schools and the high school was approved in March, 1998.
Insure
effective fire protection for all residents and properties. Area fire
protection is good and improved sites are being planned or in operation in
Barrington Hills and the Village of Barrington. A site for Wauconda fire
department in the north Barrington area is being considered.
Insure
effective law enforcement services to protect lives, property and rights of
residents. Improvements in law enforcement have been linked to
intergovernmental services in several instances, or such programs are being
considered where possible.
Maintain
and reinforce the utilities policy which underlies the current Barrington
Facilities Plan and the inherent land use objectives in that plan. If changes
are made in FPA planning, BACOG should be a leading participant. This includes specific criteria for the
location and timing of public utility installation and programs. Changes to the
area FPA should be considered on a limited basis for land use integrity and
village cohesiveness and to prevent intrusions of incompatible
development. A watershed oversight role
for the FPA should include a strong BACOG presence.
Establish
a cultural center for the BACOG area and expand the range of cultural
activities available to area residents, particularly through the area Arts
Council. Harper College is expanding its fine arts capability. Regionwide
cooperation might produce expanded programs. A fine arts center is being
planned.
Insure
an adequate and safe water supply for the BACOG area by programs aimed at
preserving and enhancing the shallow aquifer. Well monitoring should be
considered.
Maintain
and develop special standards and guidelines to manage the location,
construction and operating quality of area septic systems.
Insure
an adequate and safe solid waste collection and disposal system. For the near
future, landfill options seem adequate. Long-term disposal needs may require
new landfill sites, and increased regional cooperation.
Promote
a strategy of mutual support with other regulatory, planning and operating
agencies, which will help achieve the service objectives of the BACOG
area. This includes solid waste
agencies, stormwater management agencies, NIPC, county agreements, state and
federal agencies.
Employ
the most effective, contemporary, governmental and management procedures,
including shared service programs, which will improve the effectiveness of
service delivery, cut costs and achieve area service objectives.
Preserve,
protect and enhance the area's historic structures and sites. Historic society
programs for area villages, cooperative efforts with area schools, and adequate
record storage should be encouraged. Oral histories of the area are one of
several new approaches.
SERVICE
DELIVERY
Community services provide for the day
to day needs of the BACOG community. There are two principle options for
delivering community services: independent action by municipalities or
special districts to provide services to
its own constituency, and shared
services, where members jointly purchase or contract with another unit (in
our area usually this is the Village of Barrington or a township) to provide
goods or services. Because shared
services could result in more effective services and more responsive delivery,
BACOG should continue to analyze the feasibility of shared services in the
future.
A key
question is how to structure the system for flexibility and optimum use, even
for small villages with limited resources. Barrington, with ‑its diversified
full‑time staff, is a logical focal point as a provider of many services BACOG
can serve as a catalyst to increase the options for shared services and in some
limited cases provide the services or material. The shared service system
should continue to be modular, with individual villages choosing specific
services on a need basis. Continued
study of this important element of
intergovernmental cooperation will be necessary as conditions and needs
in member villages change. The plan
document addresses many areas in which BACOG villages have enjoyed the benefits
of shared services in the past and provides recommendations for areas in which
BACOG villages may find rewards with shared services in the future.