Supervisor, DAVID F. NELSON

Fall 2008

Cuba News

 

Township board

meetings are held

the second Thursday

of each month at

7:00 pm at the

Township office,

28000 W. Cuba

Road, Barrington.

All meetings are

open to the public

 

Office hours-

Monday—Friday

9:00 am—3:30 pm

WHAT IS CUBA TOWNSHIP?

Townships are the oldest form of local government in the country.  Brought by settlers from New England, townships were established in Illinois in 1850 to accommodate the needs of their local communities before municipalities were formed and a trip to the county seat meant spending the entire day on horseback.  Cuba Township was established in 1850 at 28160 W. Cuba Road, Barrington-property owned by the Township and known as The Grove.  This white farmhouse is now the home of the Cuba Township Road District and the site of the annual Fall Festival.

 

Cuba Township is 36 square miles.  The boundaries are Lake Cook Road on the south, Ridge Road on the west side, roughly  Roberts Road on the north and roughly Whitney Drive on the east. 

 

Illinois townships are mandated to provide 3 services- property assessment, assistance to the needy and road maintenance.

 

The Township Assessor, Rebecca Tonigan provides the staff and direction to assess all township property.  The property assessment is the basis from which all local taxing bodies receive funds from their yearly levies. 

 

The office of the Supervisor, David Nelson, is responsible for the administration of the General Assistance program.  This state mandated program provides limited financial assistance for qualifying township residents in need.  Additionally the Supervisor and staff run the township’s food pantry and act as a referral to direct residents in need to additional resources for assistance.  The Supervisor’s office also provides other services such as passport processing and senior RTA passes.

 

The Township Highway Commissioner, Tom Gooch is responsible for the maintenance of all roads and bridges in the township.  The Cuba Township Road District is a separate entity and taxing body from Cuba Township, although both work cooperatively.  Work  performed by the Road District includes, but is not limited to, road paving and snow plowing.  The Road District has   Intergovernmental Agreements with the Villages of Barrington Hills, Deer Park, Lake Barrington, North Barrington and Tower Lakes.  This cooperative situation eliminates duplication of services, creating more efficiency and thus reducing the cost to the taxpayers.  Please go to www.cubaroads.com for more information on the Road District.

 

The Township Clerk, Priscilla Rose is the keeper of all township records and legal documents of the township.  This includes taking   minutes of the township monthly board meetings.  The clerk is also the local election authority and provides voter      registration and assists with early and absentee voting. 

 

Township trustees Don Griffith, Dick Kosner, Art Rice and Roberta Svacha have the fiduciary responsibility of examining and auditing all bills presented to the Township and Road District for payment.  Further responsibilities of the trustees are in the areas of budgeting and levy preparation. 

 

Although there are now many municipalities in our area, a large portion of Cuba Township  remains unincorporated and falls under  Township and County rule.  The Township provides many services to the unincorporated areas of the Township.  These services are not duplicated anywhere else in the community.   More information about Cuba Township can be viewed at www.cubatownship.com.

 

 

Recently, I have received questions about Cuba Township and what a township does.  I hope the information above and elsewhere in this newsletter will be helpful in answering those questions.  As your Township officials, we take our      commitment to our elected positions seriously, after all, we all live in Cuba Township too!  We take pride in providing quality services at a very reasonable cost to the taxpayer.

 

The Barrington area has a long standing history of open space and limited commercial development. There are many beautiful areas for recreation and enjoyment.  No doubt, this is one reason many of us chose to live here.  But, most of these spaces are tax exempt properties and therefore do not share in the tax burden placed on the other property   owners in a particular taxing district.  This is the price of open space.  While no one likes to pay taxes, they are fundamental to the workings of your local governments and taxing bodies.  So, consider the value you get for your local tax dollars with the benefit of open space and low commercial development. 

 

I continue to work on behalf of Cuba Township and the Barrington area in the fight against the CN acquisition of the E, J & E rail line.   The overwhelming response and turn out of over 5100 concerned citizens at the August 27th meeting at Barrington High School was very encouraging.  It is the voice of the people that will ultimately resolve this situation and I thank all of you that came to the most recent meetings and those in the past.  There is much more work to be done on this issue and I ask you to stay the course and continue as your community leaders and TRAC (The Regional Answer to Canadian National) do the same.   For more information on the situation, please go to www.fightrailcongestion.com.

 

Cuba Township is pleased to present its annual Fall Festival.  Saturday, October 18, 2008 is the date of the 8th annual event.  From 1—4 pm, the Township offers an afternoon of fun, including pony rides, a petting zoo, food, games and live music.  Located at 28160 W. Cuba Road, on Township property known as The Grove, the afternoon will also feature a bake sale this year.  Proceeds from the bake sale will benefit the food pantry.    I look forward to seeing you all there!