City councilors plan Tuesday to fill three critical volunteer positions, including a vacancy on the powerful Board of Finance that controls city spending and borrowing.
If Mayor Art Ward’s choice is accepted for the nine-member panel, Republican Bob Casar will fill the slot left empty when its former vice chair, Roald Erling, resigned last fall.
Other major appointments on the agenda include the proposal to install Tom Barnes on the Bristol Downtown Development Corp. board and to tap Melissa Simonik as an assistant city attorney.
Casar said Monday he’s looking forward to the appointment, which the city’s GOP leader recommended to Ward last week.
“I would bring a unique skill set to the board with my background in both financial crimes investigation and auditing, experience that will likely make me professionally skeptical of some of our budget items,” Casar said.
He said he will “challenge public officials to remember that the taxpayers of Bristol are our customers” so fiscal overseers “need to be good stewards of their dollars, particularly during these trying economic times.”
Read the full story here.
*******Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
31 comments:
Judging from his LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, he appears to be an accomplished and energetic gentleman. He sounds like a good choice.
He said he will “challenge public officials to remember that the taxpayers of Bristol are our customers” so fiscal overseers “need to be good stewards of their dollars, particularly during these trying economic times.”
No Mr.Casar the tax payers are the boss!
Boy, Ward sure is in bed with the Republicans.
No wonder they are not on his case.
LIGHTWEIGHT!
Odin- you must be his friend as his facebook and linkedin profile do not mention anything about his accomplishments. So as Anon 4:29 said The TAXPAYERS are the boss!
he sure did a bang up job working for Sears.
Is he new to Bristol?
Where is he from?
Casar might do well to get the appointment and some experience in city finances before shooting his mouth off - not a smart way to start off.
Bob is an excellent choice for this board and will do a good job for the taxpayers of Bristol.
In the history of Bristol, this guy is one of the most arrogant buffoons ever to be appointed to a position that is clearly over his head.
January 12, 2010 6:58 AM:
Agreed...don't expect much else from this pompous jerk.
Anonymous 4:29 - The taxpayers are not "the boss" of the Board of Finance. They didn't hire him and they can't fire him, because he's appointed by the City Council.
But while I have your attention, let me ask you something: do you think the Board of Finance members should be elected? Or appointed, as it is now?
Sounds like a great choice, but, does Ward have the nuggets, err, I mean fortitude, to appoint what the town really needs; a fiscal conservative???
So he didn't ask to be on, but was recruited by Barnes?
"Odin" is a reflection of the popular sentiment of the Bristol Democrats.
In other words in this case, Casar is the only one they's let Ward appoint. They hate fiscal conservatives becasue the Bristol Democrats are the party of unions and the welfare class.
When was the last time we had a politically involved person on the non-political Board of Finance?
Does this open the door for some of Wards cronies?
Putting a person on the Board of Finance who has not been on any other board, who has not been otherwise involved in the city, at the beginning of a critical budget session is totally irresoponsible!
Shame on you Mayor Ward.
Casar is right...positively right. The taxpayers are the customers of this government monopoly. And he will be our customer service representative, not a representative of the government.
We are not a constant well of money that can be tapped at will. Perhaps he can do a "roll back" for us?
He says "...my background in both financial crimes investigation and auditing...will likely make me professionally skeptical of some of our budget items".
Since government spending in general has been a financial crime for decades, he'll have plenty of work.
There was a time when the Bristol GOP was the party of the middle class business people. These were and are fiscal conservatives who have worked hard all their lives and were concerned with government over-spending.
While Casar certainly has potential to be a good member of that aforementioned group, I hardly can believe he has the back-bone or the wisdom to deal with these matters in a serious manner.
Mayor, consult someone with a clue for your next appointment.
Boy, has he got a lot to learn.
Unfortunately, we will be paying his tuition.
Positively Right - you are so wrong. The tax payers run everything in this city - everyone works for the tax payers. The only customer is someone that pays the city for our service beyond the tax payer. When was the last customer appreciation day at city hall? I must have miss that one!
I find it hard to believe that Al Wiener will give up the "most arrogant buffoon" trophy easily, maybe the "pompous jerk" one is available.
Odin:
Isn't there a slow boat to North Korea you could get on?
January 13, 2010 6:29 AM:
You must have flunked business. The people who pay taxes are the customers. It's not that difficult to understand. The taxpayers are the customers.
You must have flunked business. The people who pay taxes are the customers. It's not that difficult to understand. The taxpayers are the customers.
When you pay sales tax you are a customer - when you pay a fee for service you are a customer - when you pay property tax you are a "owner". Did You both flunk business?
Hey, 7:53 AM, when you insult a guy, could you at least have the decency to spell his name correctly? As for the "pompous jerk" trophy, it appears that you already have your name on it...for life.
January 13, 2010 4:56 PM:
WTF are you talking about? We pay for city services through taxes. Therefore we are the customers. We own our property. We'd own our property with or without government services.
Forget business, you flunk common sense. Go back to your ditch and start digging, washing parts or whatever morons like you do.
WTF are you talking about? We pay for city services through taxes. Therefore we are the customers. We own our property. We'd own our property with or without government services.
Forget business, you flunk common sense. Go back to your ditch and start digging, washing parts or whatever morons like you do.
You really are dumb!
People that do not pay taxes in the city still reap city services. You are not really that bright. You need to go back to running your machine or what ever you do! When you pay property taxes you are vested in the city. IE: like an owner. Not a customer! Geez. If I was a customer I want to return my property tax bill because my road was not plowed last snow storm!
January 15, 2010 12:30 PM:
Did the soldiers landing on Iwo Jima beach feel like they "owned" the landing craft that dumped them there? Did the draftees in Viet Nam feel like they "owned" the Army which they SERVED in?
Why is the police motto "protect and SERVE"? We are not owners. We are much more like customers. If you think you're an "owner", go to the Police station and act like you own the place. See what kind of reaction you get.
You don't know what you're talking about "January 15, 2010 12:30 PM". In business the customer is the most important thing. An owner puts his or her customer above his or herself, otherwise the business will not be successful.
Regarding private property; the person who pays or spends the most, owns the most. With government services, all are equal. Nobody has a choice to "opt out" of government services, so we really are neither customer nor owner.
But as far as city services go, I think the analogy of a customer is better than of owner. But again we are neither, that why it's important to limit government. That is why it's important to keep government as small as possible. Casar should be talking about controlling spending and keeping government small. He isn't. He doesn't have a clue and he should NOT be on the Finance Board. He would be nothing more than a token Barne$ groupie or a scrap thrown to pathetic Bristol Republican Party.
January 13, 2010 4:56 PM:
What in your twisted, ignorant, dull-minded opinion seperates property tax revenue from sales tax revenue in regards to budgets and government?
So we're "owners" of city government because (in your mind) the revenues are gathered through property taxes (although much of city revenue come from income tax from the state and federal gov't)? But in your mind we must not be "owners" of this state or this country because that revenue is gathered through income tax and sales tax?
By the way, renters pay property taxes indirectly through their rent. But in your simple mind they are not "owners" but they are customers? That sounds feudal to me.
I guess it's hard to figure out which comment from which moron I should respond to or am reponding to. I agree that we should consider ourselves owners of our government ("by the people for the people"), but in regards to services we should be treated as paying customers (with the upmost respect).
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