BRISTOL — Robert “Rob” Glassett, the current chair of the Bristol Budget Committee, is vying with his vice-chair for a seat on the Bristol Board of Selectmen.
Selectman Paul Manganiello is not seeking another term, leaving the three-year seat up for grabs.
Glassett, who works in trade sales for Pella Windows and Doors and also serves as an on-call firefighter in Bristol, said he wants to see the town continue the progress it has made over the last two years.
“I want the town to keep moving forward,” Glassett said, “but there are some who want to handcuff that progress,” Glassett said.
His opponent, Wayne Anderson, has suggested that the Bristol Police Department has too many full-time officers, but, in Glassett’s view, the department is the right size for the town.
“With an incoming chief, we don’t want to limit what they can accomplish,” he said. “Let the chief come up with a plan so they can succeed.”
Glassett believes that comparisons with other towns do not take into account the transient population or the influx of people from surrounding towns who come to Bristol to shop or for services.
“Population alone doesn’t accurately reflect the need,” he said. “I don’t feel they’re looking at the right numbers. What counts is calls for service. You need to look at the in-custody arrests and felonies.”
He also argues that the safety of officers is important.
“To be out there at 1 a.m., and the nearest backup is at least 15 minutes away, is putting that officer in danger.”
He concedes that Anderson’s suggestion that the town use part-timers to fill the need is “a great idea, but recruiting part-timers is difficult. People are too busy, and you can’t get part-timers to get certified and work for a department. Typically, part-timers are working for other departments, or are close to retirement.”
As for the importance of building a new town hall and converting the existing municipal building into a police station, Glassett sees it as “an absolute need; otherwise, we’re kicking the can down the road.”
Bristol has attempted to address space needs for two decades, but voters have rejected previous building plans. The current plan has been scaled back from the original proposal in face of public resistance to the cost.
“We need to make sure it’s the right plan,” Glassett said. “I want voters to be able to decide, and if it passes, we need to see it’s done right. The biggest thing is that it have no further impact on the tax rate.”
Glassett said this is the time build, while interest rates are still low. Delaying the project will increase the cost of both building and bonding.
Yet Glassett does not support the selectmen’s decision to lower the amount of borrowing by applying money that normally would go into some capital reserve accounts toward the building project.
“I believe we should stay with capital reserve accounts. They’re there for a reason,” he said.
Capital reserve accounts allow the town to set aside money for future capital needs, as outlined on the Capital Improvement Plan that prioritizes spending to avoid spikes in the tax rate. If enough money is not set aside, taxpayers in future years will have to make up the difference in higher taxes.
Detractors say the money set aside gets eaten away by inflation, and it forces taxpayers to pay ahead for equipment or improvements they may not be around to see.
Glassett said that, by sticking to the capital improvement plan, the town saves for anticipated expenses, taking into account when current bonds will be paid off. “Then it looks like little or no impact on the tax rate,” he said.
“We have a reasonable tax rate,” he said, “and for what we pay, we get excellent services.” He cited the town departments, as well as the library and downtown improvements, as examples of what the town has accomplished.
“The little amount that could be saved has little impact on the tax rate,” Glassett said. “You don’t jeopardize public safety to save a few dollars.”
The biggest challenge, he said, is to accomplish all the town is trying to accomplish in a reasonable amount of time and within a reasonable budget.
“I have a decent amount of leadership ability,” Glassett said. “Every great leader needs great leaders below them, and to you need problem-solving ability and be able to look outside of the box.”
He said it’s good to have analytical ability, but one needs to put the human factor first.
“There are intangibles involved,” he said. “There are needs of the community and town employees that you don’t just cast aside and just look at the numbers.”
He concluded, “I want to see us maintain the course we’re on, but be prudent and reasonable when it comes to spending. I don’t want to arbitrarily cut spending.
“The biggest reason I’m running is for our community.”
15 February 2018