Barrington to hire geographic info. coordinator

Barrington officials Monday created the position of a part-time geographic information systems coordinator to replace the services the village had received from a GIS analyst formerly employed by the Barrington Area Council of Governments.

Barrington Village Manager Jeff Lawler said it’s common with today’s technology for municipalities providing the approximate level of services that Barrington does to rely on the work of a GIS coordinator.

These systems provide the most reliable and quick access to such geographical information as the location and depth of the village’s underground utilities as well as its stock of ash trees as it continues to fight the destructive emerald ash borer, Lawler said.

The BACOG analyst had worked mostly on compiling information for the entire Barrington area, but about 40 percent of her time was kept available for specific needs of the nine member governments. And Barrington — which was quick to recognize the benefits of GIS — used about 90 percent of that available time, BACOG Executive Director Janet Agnoletti said.

That analyst left in May, and BACOG’s board of directors recently decided to eliminate the position rather than refill it in an effort to reduce membership dues.

Barrington has been using GIS services for more than a decade, when improving technology superseded the use of paper records for geographical information, Lawler said.

The village is looking for a coordinator to work 24 hours a week, as the market salary and benefits for a full-time coordinator are beyond the village’s budget at this time.

Base salaries for full-time GIS coordinators in the Chicago area currently average between $55,698 and $78,334, according to the village’s research. With full-time benefits, this range would grow to between $67,175 to $94,454, plus an additional $6,000 to $20,000 for health and life insurance.

Though the village plans on using the savings from its lowered BACOG dues to help replace this former BACOG service, it doesn’t rise to the level of a full-time employee, Lawler said.

In fact, the village doesn’t yet know how challenging or time-consuming it may be to find a qualified GIS analyst seeking only part-time employment, he added.