Bristol Council candidates talk taxes, spending and small business

In a Phoenix story a week ago, several candidates for Bristol Town Council warned voters to be wary that some of their opponents may not be fiscally responsible with town budgets and taxes. This week they had a chance to elaborate on those comments — and those whose fiscal discipline has been questioned, to respond to the insinuations.

All candidates were also asked what they and their colleagues could do, if elected, to help the Bristol business community.

Mike Byrnes (I)
Tie wages to inflation

Mr. Byrnes is one of those who suggested that some of his Democratic opponents might not show enough fiscal restraint. Asked to expand on those comments, he offered three specific suggestions for how everyone running the Town of Bristol might be fiscally responsible.

He suggested the town consider some elements of “zero-based budgeting,” meaning budgets are built based on what is necessary to provide the right level of services in a particular department — not off of what was done the prior year. “It would require a lot more scrutiny of the budgets,” he said.

Mr. Byrnes also suggested the town periodically conduct forensic audits to take a deeper dive into certain budgets. “A deeper audit would make everyone scrutinize budgets much more closely,” he said.

His third suggestion has to do with employee compensation. “We might think about tying wage increases to inflation. Seniors on a fixed income, if they’re lucky, they get increases tied to inflation … That’s a fair way to do it. Increases above inflation would only be warranted if a certain group’s wages were way behind market value.”

A business advocate

Despite his years working on behalf of the small business community as a leader of Explore Bristol, Mr. Byrnes has a surprising view of what government should do for businesses: not a lot. More than anything, his view of government is, don’t get in the way.

“The town can get in the way of small businesses, but they can’t make them successful. The primary responsibility for success or failure is the owner of that small business,” he said.

He said the most important thing the town can do is create a positive, welcoming environment — and that can vary depending on the industry and location (waterfront, retail, manufacturing, dining …). He praised the town’s response to help restaurants create outdoor dining options this summer and fall. He thinks the town needs to continue to work on bringing more visitors into Bristol.

Most importantly, he believes the town needs to have someone —  a liaison, an ombudsman, an advocate — who listens to the business community and creates a bridge between the local government and private enterprise. “I want there to be a point person for everything to do with business … I think it would be really helpful if the council had someone devoted to small businesses,” he said.

Aaron Ley (D)
Go line by line

Asked about some of his opponents’ concerns over budgeting and taxes, Mr. Ley felt that criticism should not have been directed at him, if it was. “Surely they weren’t talking about the last budget process,” he said, talking about his actions on the council, when he not only questioned or scrutinized spending in about 15 different areas, but when the council trimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars in town spending as a reaction to Covid-19.

“I’m open to anything to improve the process,” Mr. Ley said. “If somebody wants to make a strong case for zero-based budgeting or something like that, I’m open to it.

I’d prefer to look at every single line item in the budget, if we could. That’s what I do.”

Listen and think long-term

As for helping the small business community, Mr. Ley has a lot to offer. A university professor who devoted part of his dissertation to the dynamics of economic development, he was one of the consultants hired to review and offer feedback on Gov. Gina Raimondo’s economic strategy.

He first sees opportunity in some of the Covid actions that have already taken place. The growth of outdoor dining on lower State Street has him thinking about creating a regular “pedestrian mall” downtown. “A lot of successful downtowns have created pedestrian malls … It’s not something we would do 24/7, but there might be some value in saying that once a week, or once every two weeks, we’re going to turn State Street into a pedestrian mall, and it’s going to coincide with the Providence to Newport ferry arrival.”

Another important strategy for the local government is simply to listen. “I would say to businesses, come to us with a plan for something you think would help you … These businesses know exactly what they need to be successful, so when they come to us, it helps us out a lot … and we need to be flexible when people come to us with requests.”

Mr. Ley mentioned the council’s approval of an expanded liquor license for the Beehive Café and the creation of a new liquor license for the Baba Sushi restaurant as examples of the council being nimble and responsive to businesses. “Those were no-brainers,” he said.

Mr. Ley sees long-term opportunities as well that would require more time and space to develop, but they include Bristol working to attract cyber-security firms to town (Newport and Middletown have some of the best in the world), as well as career and technical training at Mt. Hope High School in fields like welding (Electric Boat expect to be hiring for well-paying jobs for at least a decade).

“I think we should reconstitute the economic development commission and put people in there who are willing to think outside the box and develop future visions for the town,” he said.

Bethany Sousa Foster (D)
She knows fiscal discipline

Though definitely a target for some of her opponents’ criticism, Ms. Foster said she welcomes the scrutiny in this area.

“My goal is not to come in and raise taxes,” she said. “I’ve worked for more than 20 years in corporate finance, and I’ve seen how companies focus their budgets.

They look at every single line and say, ‘Does this support our goals this year?’ We need to do the same thing and ask, ‘Does this support the goals that we have as a town?’ ”

Along those lines, she may see areas where the town can spend less in certain areas and more in others. “I want to help our seniors. I want to help our low-income. I want to help people stay and live here in Bristol … For me, its more about how do you prioritize the spending?”

She was critical of a town decision to use surplus funds from the last budget cycle on needed infrastructure projects. “Maybe we should have reserved those funds for Covid impacts over the winter,” she said, adding that the people of Bristol could be facing more economic hardships and employment restrictions as the virus continues to impact daily life.

“I’m always going to care for people more than infrastructure,” she said. “Maybe we should have set those monies aside. If we need them to help people, we have them. If we don’t, we spend them in the spring on infrastructure.”

“I’m not a big tax and spend liberal,” she added. “I have a very strong finance background. Yes, I care for people and want to assist residents, but I understand fiscal responsibilities.”

Get people into town

Ms. Foster comes from a family of small business owners and says she understands their perspective. “Mostly, they really just want you to leave them alone,” she said. “But they do want a lot of people in town.”

That’s why she’s a big proponent of a proposed bike path extension to the southern end of town. She’s also a supporter of opening up dialogues between the town and the owners/landlords of empty storefronts.

“I want to hear from them,” she said. “What can we do to incentivize them to get those spaces occupied?”

Ms. Foster would also like the town to give attention to the larger properties outside of the downtown district — like the empty Benny’s and Rite Aid properties off Metacom Avenue. “What can we do to attract people, to market those properties?” she asked.

Antonio “Tony” Teixeira (I)
‘Can’t have an open checkbook’

Mr. Teixeira sounded the alarm about future councilors exercising fiscal discipline, and he repeated the warnings this week.

“Overall, we can’t have an open checkbook,” he said. “Whatever we do now, we have to be able to sustain it, and we have to take into consideration all residents. We cannot just appease one group … I would be very cautious about what is done now, and what we pass on to other generations … It concerns me across all areas and all departments.”

‘It’s like a marriage’

When Mr. Texieira was town administrator, he streamlined some of the local government, saved money and created a full-time economic development director. And what he learned from that experience — when the town would occasionally host forums or Small Business Administration workshops — is that the local business community needs to make the effort to get the town’s help. Often only a handful of business leaders would show up.

“Overall, the town has been very supportive,” he said.

“We’ve changed policy so the commercial tax rate is the same as the residential rate. We now have a program where we pick up their trash. When Covid hit, we waived license fees.”

He also mentioned the outside dining permits issued to businesses throughout town during the pandemic.

“I feel like we’ve done a lot,” Mr. Teixeira said. “We will continue to be there for all businesses, but we can only go so far … It’s like a marriage; it takes two people … They need to be comfortable reaching out to us … Going on social media to complain is not giving the town a fair shot.”

Timothy Sweeney (D)
Not ‘fully fund,’ it’s ‘properly fund’

Mr. Sweeney also welcomes the question about fiscal discipline. “It’s one of the things, besides, the environment, that I really care about,” he said. “We, the council, and the administrator, work hard to make sure that we spend money responsibly.” He mentioned significant reductions in trash and recycling costs as a big money-saver for the town.

Mr. Sweeney also said the town can do more than be fiscally prudent. It can generate new revenue, something he sees possible through the town’s Maritime Center, an expanded town marina and a new fuel dock. “I would love to see that whole area become its own enterprise zone,” he said.

With regards to school spending, he said the town and school department need to have a constant, healthy dialogue about school expenses. “We need to always look at the actual expenses in the district, and don’t get into a situation where there’s a huge budget request at the end of the cycle,” he said.

A term used frequently this campaign season is to “fully fund” the schools. Mr. Sweeney said it’s more important to “properly fund” the schools, based on an analysis of what they need, and where they can save.

Better public transportation

Mr. Sweeney wants to help small businesses by keeping existing tax exemptions in place, keeping solar exemptions in place, reenergizing the town’s economic development commission, and actually recruiting businesses into the town’s empty storefronts.

He also suggests the town partner with organizations like Commerce RI or the East Bay Chamber of Commerce to host training for 21st-century business skills, like e-commerce. And he blends his environmental and business interest together when he suggests that a stronger public transportation system would benefit everyone.

“The millennials don’t necessarily want to own a car,” he said. “So to attract them here, we need a really good public transportation system … I would love to see the town and RIPTA partner up to develop a better busing system, more stations, buses enabled with wifi … to get more people into our downtown.”

Adam Ramos (D)
Tax what we need, and no more

Mr. Ramos sees spending decisions as a reflection of a community’s values and priorities. “Any time we decide to spend the public’s money, it’s a statement of what we consider important,” he said. “So every spending decision is worthy of a great deal of thought.”

He cites his work on the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee as testament to his approach on fiscal matters.

“With the school budgets, I have scrutinized every line in the budget. If I didn’t understand what something was, I asked,” he said. “I am not an economist, and I’m not a trained accountant, but I do know what it means to put in the work and ask questions and be curious about things … and to know that it’s important to ask questions if you don’t know something, or if they’re questions that haven’t been asked before.”

How should spending decisions be made?

“We need to be disciplined enough to raise exactly as much money is needed to deliver the services that our citizens need and demand, in order to have the ability to obtain a reasonably comfortable existence.” And not a dollar more, he said.

He does have ideas about new taxing strategies as well. “I’d like to explore new ways, particularly on the tax side, to raise as much or more money than we’re currently raising, without raising higher burdens on those who can least afford it.”

Form new partnerships

Mr. Ramos has a few ideas to helps small businesses.

First, he suggests reconstituting the town’s economic development commission, to create a body that is focused on small business needs and opportunities.

Secondly, the town needs to create partnerships that bring new businesses into town, and that does not always mean more restaurants downtown. “What other new types of businesses can we bring in?” he asked. He suggested a partnership with Hope and Main, where the small businesses that grow out of that organization’s incubation phase are encouraged to find a new home in Bristol, particularly in unused spaces in town-owned buildings.

Lastly, the town should be sure it has a welcoming tour guide to help any business navigate through regulations, permits, etc. “This is a business services types of position, it could be within the town administrator’s office or the town clerk’s office, that helps coordinate the process and steers people in all the directions they need to go.”

“Overall, we need a climate that is conducive to economic development and not do any harm to the business community.”

Nathan Calouro (D)
It’s pretty simple stuff

Mr. Calouro has a simple process to evaluate all spending decisions. “It’s pretty straightforward,” he said. “We go through a process with all key decisions. What is the topic in front of us? How important is it to the community? Is it something we need to do now? Are there other funding sources? Are there creative funding options?”

The council president said they try to plan town expenditures in buckets of time — what’s immediate, what’s in two years, what’s in five years, what’s in 10 years?

“Personally, I weigh it all very carefully. My Mom and Dad live in town. My aunts live in town. My family lives in town. I live in town, and I have to pay the taxes, too,” Mr. Calouro said.

He said the town has an obligation to provide basic services to residents, and even though the foundational expenses can be boring, they are critical to quality of life in the community. “The roads need to be paved, the police need to be properly funded, the DPW needs the right equipment … All this stuff is boring, but if it’s not happening right, you’ve got problems,” he said.

‘Listen to the businesses’

As for small businesses, he has a simple view of things as well. The most important task is to listen to them.

Like others, he referenced the town’s quick actions to get outside dining approvals for Bristol restaurants. “We moved quickly on that. We fast-tracked those approvals, literally in days in some cases, to help those businesses survive.”

Mr. Calouro said the town has continued to support both the Explore Bristol and Bristol Merchants Association groups, not only with direct funding but with indirect services like traffic details, banners, signs and other support. “The businesses will tell you what they need … it’s about helping them get things done.”

He also mentioned the town’s Economic Development Coordinator, Chris Vitale, for serving a vital role in the local business community, helping Bristol businesses find state grants or loans. Mr. Calouro also told an anecdote about a Bristol business that asked for helping negotiating with National Grid to get a massive set of power lines installed. The utility company’s original plan would have been burdensome on the private business, but the town stepped in and worked out a better solution.

“Those are the types of opportunities where we can use our position to help these businesses,” he said.

Mary Parella (R)
‘School budgets are not sustainable’

Ms. Parella talked a lot about the tension between supporting the schools — “I’m a big supporter of education,” she said — and “fully funding” the schools.

“It is just not practical. It cannot be sustained,” she said. “If you continue this every year, you will tax people right out of their homes.”

Ms. Parella said some of the school funding pressures could be solved by the state, if it released more aid to the district. Outside of that, she said the standard trajectory of 3 to 5 percent budget increases every year is not sustainable. And she said that the voices heard in the actual budget hearings don’t always represent the majority of voices in the community.

“The people who go to school budget hearings are the advocates … The people who oppose full funding don’t go to the meetings, they say things to us privately. They stop me in the grocery store. They don’t want to say things that appear negative in front of the teachers or their neighbors.”

Ms. Parella touched on one creative solution to tax pressures. She said the town could investigate the impact of replacing the property tax system with an income tax system. It has been adopted in other parts of the country, and it’s something Bristol might want to consider, she said.

More training and attracting tourists

Ms. Parella believes Bristol has a good track record of supporting local businesses. She, too, talked about the outdoor dining expansion, and said that is something the town might want to consider making permanent.

In the Covid-19 world, she’d like to see the town develop workshops and training opportunities to help businesses transition into more e-commerce models and create better digital presence.

“We also can do more advocacy with the state, not only with the legislators, but with the R.I. Commerce Corp. It’s been frustrating to see the state taking so long to get Federal Cares Act money out to our small businesses … It’s a disgrace.”

She suggested that if distribution of federal monies had been delegated to cities and towns, the money would have been quickly distributed in Bristol.

Ms. Parella has been a consistent, unwavering supporter of Explore Bristol and its efforts to bring outside visitors to town. She firmly believes that every article, ranking or mention of Bristol in media, blogs, websites or other forums, raise the profile of this town and attract more people to visit, shop, dine and stay.

“I have always been a huge proponent of putting more money into the business organizations, like Explore Bristol,” she said.