To the editor: 

Much has been made of the more than 30 percent increase in the operating budgets of both Barrington schools and our municipality. A recent flyer was sent to Barrington residents touting the specifics of these increases. Unfortunately, there is no identification as to whom sent this, other than a QR code to sign up for a newsletter. The group apparently calls itself Concerned Citizens of Barrington, but until the newsletter arrives just who sent this remains unclear.

A cursory review makes the numbers seem very alarming but, in fairness, the striking statistics must be modulated by comparing them to the inflation rate of the past decade. 

The flyer alleges that school operations have increased by 32 percent over the past 10 years and municipal operations by 37 percent. We accept these as accurate for purposes of discussion. If one looks at the inflation rate over the past decade it comes in at 28.2 percent. This includes the post-pandemic two-year surge (Investopedia.com/inflation-rat).  

On average, one can see that Barrington budgetary outlays have outstripped inflation by 4 to 9 percent, respectively. This is not as dramatic as the 32 and 37 percent enumerated by the concerned citizens group.

Budgetary spending in Barrington is clearly out of control, but it is not as quite as dire as the statistics presented contend. 

This is not an excuse or an apology for the spending spree and, in fact, we should stop applying for exceptions to the state mandated annual increase in budget as a matter of course. Expenditure hikes should be much more in line with that of inflation. The positive side of these comparisons is that we are not grossly out of line and the excess is more like one percent per year, which should be far more manageable. Make note that one percent per year adds up to substantial increases and is indeed “unsustainable.” None of this addresses bonded indebtedness or fee hikes which are topics for another discussion. 

It is the duty of our elected representatives to control expenditures, and while not as wildly out of place as has been presented, it is still too much and we must be more fiscally responsible. With the upcoming election, all candidates should be questioned closely on their commitment to sustainable budgetary decisions. 

Stephen E Glinick MD

Barrington