Barrington supervisor Kuehn resigns

Jan 15, 2019 at 09:23 pm by Observer-Review


Barrington supervisor Kuehn resigns ADVERTISEMENT

Barrington supervisor Kuehn resigns

BARRINGTON--Town of Barrington Supervisor John Kuehn has submitted his resignation.
Kuehn submitted a short three-paragraph note to the town board at their January organizational meeting.
He said in his letter, "I came into the office of supervisor with the sincerest intentions. I felt that my background and experience made me someone who could improve some of the day-to-day processes that would enable the town to serve its tax base better. But after a rather frustrating year for all of us I have found myself in a position where I am unable to effectively provide the leadership to make the changes needed and to resolve the issues the town faces."
Kuehn said his resignation was effective Jan. 15.
The town of Barrington held a special meeting Friday, Jan. 11 to process the necessary bank signature statements for making regular town payments and transactions. Nate Olney, deputy supervisor, coordinated the meeting and said the town plans to appoint a supervisor to serve until the election in the fall. Olney said, "I can help out in the next month or so but then we need to appoint someone to handle the duties until the election." For the election, Barrington will vote on a supervisor candidate along with two council seats and the town's justice position.
The town of Barrington has received media attention in the recent past for the town's alcohol dispute with the business The Olney Place. The town's former Code Enforcement Officer John Griffin was charged Dec. 29 with filing a false instrument related to The Olney Place.
Further, in 2017 a state financial audit identified Barrington holding large reserves from taxpayer fees. The state comptroller released a report titled "Town of Barrington Financial Management," which audited the town's oversight and management of financial operations. The state examined the period from Jan. 1, 2015 to April 10, 2017, and also looked back to 2014 for trends.
The state report said the Barrington board did not provide sufficient oversight of the town's financial operations. The report stated, "As a result of the lack of financial oversight, the board levied higher property taxes than necessary and its ability to effectively manage the town's finances was severely diminished."
The audit summarized the findings as follows: "As of Dec. 31, 2016, the unrestricted fund balance in the general town-wide fund was about $1.2 million, or 273 percent of the ensuing year's budget.

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