To the editor: 

In 2023 residents voted for a $250 million school bond to upgrade and enhance our students' learning environment. The tax effects of this bond will not be seen in your tax bill until 2025. The tax increase on the bond alone will be 9 percent. For example, if your tax bill was $14,000 this year, the bond will increase it to $15,260 over the next few years as the money is withdrawn. But there’s more. 

Elected Barrington officials have significantly increased spending every year since 2018. If this trend continues then in 2029 your $14,000 tax bill will be $18,200. Yes, a 30 percent increase in your tax bill will happen if we allow the continued year over year spending increases to continue.

In fact, in the last five years, the year over year increases in both the municipal and school department have doubled. For example, from 2104-2019 the year over year spending increased on average roughly 2 percent. From 2019-2024 the increase in the year over year averaged over 4 percent. 

So what has improved with the over 4 percent increase in spending every year? In my opinion, not much. I still have the same great services I have enjoyed for the last 26 years. And of course an excellent public school education. Instead, we have a disproportionate increase in spending for these services. Without a significant increase in population, officials have doubled the yearly increase for the same services and they have hired more people to provide these services. 

How can elected officials continue this level of spending when our population has not increased significantly? In the last 10 years Barrington has seen an increase in population of 5 percent, yet the number of town employees has grown 9 percent and the budget 37 percent. On the school side we have seen a 3 percent increase in student enrollment, with an 8 percent increase in employees and a 32 percent increase in spending.

Barrington is becoming more challenging to afford for longtime senior residents who don’t want to move, young families, and those who no longer have kids in school. More focus needs to be on eliminating unnecessary spending especially while taxpayers absorb the increases felt from both the middle school bond and the School Building Improvement Bond. 

Lisa Daft

Barrington