To the Editor:

As I leave office I would like to provide a few parting comments – comments that draw upon my 34 years in the army, 12 years as Colton town magistrate and now 5 years as your supervisor.

There comes a time when we the voters need to think beyond party lines. We need a supervisor with experience in public service, contracting, information technology, people management and an individual who has not only built budgets but has successfully implemented them in the public sector. We need a CEO, not a CPA.

We need a person who “does what is right” and has the temperament to manage our work force and respond to our taxpayers in a concerned and professional manner -- a person who displays the least common of all the senses – common sense and a person who wants to serve the people and not his or her ego. Being retired is also a plus in that the person will be able to devote the time needed to town activities.

The town supervisor is by state law the CEO for the town with the additional duty of chief fiscal officer. As CEO he has ready access to attorneys, CPA’s and other resource services for specific needs.

Recently the town government in Colton has come under attack for not taking over and maintaining private roads, for increasing taxes, for not expanding internet services and for giving into Erie Blvd./Brookfield on assessments. These make for good campaign headlines but carry little rationale as to their validity when one looks into the underlying rules, regulations, court orders and statutes behind them.

Dig into the background of each – do not confuse taxes with assessments, look at what New York state considers a valid assessment value for Brookfield’s hydro projects in Colton, check the law on a local government taking over and maintaining private roads, investigate internet rules and regulations then judge the actions to date by your town board in each of these areas.

Headlines in today’s newspaper -- the FCC is considering a move to downgrade broadband services in rural areas such as Colton. This is the world we must operate within.

The opportunity is before us – let’s do what is right for the Town of Colton and thank you for the privilege in having been able to serve you these past 17 years.

Denny Bulger

Colton Town Supervisor