PRESENTATION
Brandon Robertson
Avon Town Manager
Brandon Robertson serves as the town manager of Avon since 2010. Prior, he worked for first the Town of Simsbury and the town of Tolland. He became credentialed by the International City/County Management Association in December of 2015 and has served on the board of Farmington Valley Health District since 2003.
Brandon spoke about the challenges of his work during the pandemic. Avon Town Hall is currently closed to the public. In person, public meetings have been suspended. They have been presented challenges as boards and commissions must move online. It has been hard to coordinate this and allow for public comment on the internet. The Town of Avon also has to respond to the community and continue to provide services safely. He is grateful to report the economic impact hasn't been as dramatic as other towns in the state. But he anticipates a greater economic impact as the virus continues. Another difference is the executive orders that the governor is giving. For example, the budget has had to be reorganized due to an executive order. He is happy to report that they are working on making sure it's a 0% tax increase for Avon residents. Another silver lining is how the pandemic has allowed the town to work together and innovate and come up with creative solutions.
Brandon shared that he became the chair of the Farmington Valley Health District in September, which oversees 100,000 resident's health services. He has remained positive despite the large responsbility during the pandemic.
He also spoke about the commercial space on the corner of Climax road. At this time he only knows of Whole Foods signing a lease. When the leases are definitive the builders will share what will be moving in.
Bill asked about emergency services and responders in regards to regionalization. Brandon said that there is a lot of work behind the scenes between towns. For example, Avon and Canton share animal control, share staff between social services, etc. There is a lot of communication between the towns during the pandemic to slow the spread of the virus as well. Brandon also addressed the unfortunate situation about the communication tower that would have helped first responders and dispatch hear each other in areas that don't transmit due to a deficiency in the current system.
Brandon shared how he filled the open Police Chief position by hiring James Rio as a Director of Police Services.
Marc asked if town employees have been laid off or furloughed. At this time, they are in good shape with their revenue and no one has been laid off.
Thank you Brandon!