The Tower Lakes Plan Commission is charged with the responsibility of updating the Comprehensive Plan for the Village. This plan serves two purposes: to advise the Village Board on the direction they might take for future projects and to provide information which can aid decision making on issues facing the Village.

The Village Board requested the Plan Commission to develop a means of gauging residents' opinions on certain critical issues and determine how important those issues are to the residents. To achieve this, a survey was prepared and mailed to each adult in Tower Lakes. The survey asked residents their opinions on the state of the Village and their opinion on what changes should be looked at by Village management. To encourage responses, a stamped and addressed reply envelope was included in the survey mailing.

In addition, respondents were invited to address any issues which they felt were important, an option most took advantage of. Those open-ended responses and comments were passed on to the Village Board and Plan Commission.

The response to the survey was very good by traditional mail survey standards as shown below:

The statistical survey results, available elsewhere, tally total responses for each question (scaled from 1 to 5) and the weighted average of responses as an indication of general opinion. Note that the mode (most popular answer) must also be considered in evaluating responses. Also note that some questions, particularly opinions concerning village annexations, revealed highly polarized responses.

Summary Results

Most respondents are very pleased with the Village as evidenced by the 4.06 average response. Respondents gave high marks for friendliness and sense of community in Tower Lakes and also felt that the general appearance of the Village was very good. In some cases, respondents wrote in very specific comments, which influenced their decision to downgrade the Village on overall satisfaction or appearance. The Barrington Library (4.35), proximity to medical care (4.54), and residential density (4.13) are viewed positively by the respondents; village roads (3.44), zoning policies (3.42) and real estate taxes (2.29) have less than satisfactory ratings.

By far, the most widely used information source for respondents is the Tower Lakes News, with a rating of 4.64. Though respondents indicated that it is relatively easy to get information about the Village from various boards and their members, the Village newsletter continues to be the most useful source for information. This has important implications for how this newsletter can and should be used to get news to Village residents.

Respondents gave the water system (2.18), and storm water drainage system (2.63) particularly low marks for performance. This is particularly relevant when reviewing how respondents viewed the importance of these two issues to them - 4.52 and 4.10 respectively.

Respondents gave high marks to police protection (4.34), garbage collection (4.31), and recycling (4.25) all considered important to respondents. In sum, the survey concludes that village services which are important to respondents and where the Village is doing a less-than adequate job need to receive attention; conversely, items which respondents consider less important (cable TV, lawn waste pickup, street lighting) should take less village management attention.

In general, respondents felt that most Village Boards and Commissions were performing a "better-than-average" job with average ratings from 3.15 to 4.25. There is some question, not fully answered from survey responses, as to what could be done to achieve "excellence". It should be noted that the scores on board and commission performance need to be tempered by the low attendance at meetings, also revealed by the survey.

There is a strong need to better communicate what the boards are doing and what their function is to the community. The survey reveals that over 30% of the respondents have moved to Tower Lakes in the 1990's alone - these "newer" residents may need information as to the purpose and responsibility of each board and commission so they have a gauge for measuring performance.

There also appears to be some confusion as to the differences between and duties of the Village of Tower Lakes and the Tower Lakes Improvement Association (TLIA). The survey suggests that an explanation to village residents of the duties and responsibilities of these two bodies would be time well spent. It is important that all residents understand that the lake are owned and managed by TLIA and that the Village has no direct input into lake maintenance, prevention of shoreline erosion, lakefront property access or other lake-related issues with the exception of stormwater management.

The standout in the performance of commissions, board and village services is the Police Department which received high marks (4.25 rating) for superior service and competence. The Police Department, rated as "important" to respondents, also received the highest number of positive write-in comments. Finally, these ratings are based on services provided by the Police Department to respondents, a total of 525 separate occasions.

Respondents feel that, in general, the Village Commissions and Boards are receptive to respondents' suggestions. Again, the Police Department ranked highest in this regard with an average rating of 4.19; the Zoning Board of Appeals ranked lowest with a 3.06 rating. Note that these numbers must be tempered by the large number of respondents who indicated "no experience" with the Village's Commissions or Boards.

The biggest concerns of respondents were:

The water system

This was the number one commented-upon item of all village services. There is considerable residual feeling about the decision to build or not build a specific type of water tower. There is also a strong feeling that residents are entitled to clean, safe drinking water and this needs to be handled by the Village as quickly as possible.

Condition of the lakes

Respondents cited the lakes as one of the chief reasons they moved to this area. There is considerable concern that the lake is not being maintained to the best level possible, though, as noted above, this is not under the direct supervision of the Village. Moreover the condition of the lakes appears to tie directly to several allied comments and scores from the survey, i.e. "need for sewers", "more volunteerism", "lake as an asset", "appearance of village".

The "beauty of the village"

Directly related to the above is the desire of respondents to maintain or enhance the beauty of the area. Again, respondents cited moving to Tower Lakes for its beauty and, judging from survey responses including write-in comments, this needs to be enhanced. More critical is the perception that items which detract from Village appearance need to be handled quickly and completely.

Taxes

Many respondents cited high taxes as a problem. Though it is recognized that the Village does not have control over all taxing bodies, this does point to the issue of not asking for additional property tax increases unless these are absolutely necessary. Further, the reaction to taxes appears to be partly driven by respondents’ lack of knowledge on how monies received by the Village are spent. Finally, the issue of taxes appears to be influencing respondent replies to the issue of whether Tower Lakes should annex additional property or merge with another community.

Despite the unwillingness of Tower Lakes residents to raise taxes, there are some areas in which respondents would be willing, given adequate justification, of increasing taxes to pay for improved services. These areas are:

It is no coincidence that the above items were rated as very important to respondents in the survey. Note that none of the above enhanced services received an overriding positive "vote" so any expansion of service would need to be carefully reviewed for any impact on taxes.

Respondents to the survey want to preserve the existing character of the Village as much as possible. To that end, most responded favorably (4.13) to annexing property if it will protect the character of the Village. However on the issue of Village growth through annexation and development, opinions start to diverge as evidenced by the bipolar survey responses. On the issue of merging with another community, respondents again split to opposite sides of the issue indicating considerable disagreement. Several respondents indicated that "it would depend" pointing to a need to know the exact situation for annexation before firmly committing to a decision.

Respondents indicated that sharing services would be a plus for Tower Lakes particularly if these services could be shared with no dilution in service level and if this also meant a reduction in fees and taxes. Police (63.8%), road maintenance (70.1%) and garbage collection (70.1%) were indicated as the three services most willing to be shared according to survey responses. Also mentioned via write-in comments were the sharing of water services and sewer. Respondents were less inclined to share recreational facilities and Planning/Zoning services.

Respondents were not generally in favor of increasing services beyond what might be considered "normal" village responsibilities. There was little support for expanding the Village Office (2.29), creating after-school programs (2.64), daycare (2.19) or senior services (2.60). Items that might be considered marginally viable were a community bike path (3.16), a crosswalk at Essex Place/lndian Trail/Rt 59 (2.67) and expanded recreational programs (2.98).

The Plan Commission has also compiled from the survey, with the assistance of the Village secretary, a list of requested enhancements to the cable TV system in Tower Lakes to be passed to the Legal Committee and on to the Cable Company.

Copies of the full report will also be made available to the Cable Company, Water Company, Zoning Board of Appeals and the Building Officer.

Finally, the responses to the survey and written feedback from respondents will be incorporated into the Village Comprehensive Plan.

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