Barrington embarks on new projects, saves money

Barrington is embarking on $11 million in public works improvements.

At the same time, it's seeking savings for taxpayers through refinancing debt it incurred to pay for construction of the village hall, public safety building and iron filtration system a decade ago.

The village board approved the $11.2 million bond issue this week to pay for extensive street and sidewalk improvements and new equipment for the sewer and water systems.

Barrington's Director of Community and Financial Services Jason Hayden said the timing is intended to coincide with a period of historically low interest rates and reduced construction costs.

The village has also experienced the recent upgrading of its bond rating to AA+, which is of further help in financing these projects, he said.

The village hopes to complete the street improvements within 18 months, while the sewer and water projects may take two or three years.

The latter includes two wastewater clarifier projects, the reconstruction of sewage lift stations, construction of new water wells and two new water mains to improve redundancy in the system and the replacement of an aging water main, Hayden said.

Though the city of Prospect Heights recently switched from wells to Lake Michigan water, Hayden said such a project is still considered cost-prohibitive for Barrington at roughly $20 million. Improving the well system is considered a more effective solution.

Refinancing the debt from the village hall and public safety building projects from the late '90s is expected to save taxpayers about $474,000 in property taxes before the projects are fully paid off in 2018. This rare opportunity to save so much money comes from a reduction in the interest rate from 4 percent to 2.85 percent, Hayden said.

The issuing of $1.1 million in refunding bonds for the iron filtration system is expected to provide savings for the water and sewer systems. Another project from the late '90s, the system was built to reduce the high iron content of the water supply before it reaches consumers.