Betsy Glassman Treasurer
I have lived in in Litchfield since 1991 and am running for Town Treasurer to decrease the town’s debt, taxes and to control capital spending. People ask how I’ll do it. The answer is I’ll work with the Democratic team to make good decisions and end redundant, unnecessary capital spending.
Financial facts
Under Republican governance for more than 25 years, the Town of Litchfield today
- Has debt of $34 million
- Pays $3.5 million annually in debt service (often likened to a home mortgage)
- Approved $3.2 million in capital spending this year, most of it bonded
- Will pay $6.8 million for capital spending + debt service this year
- Spends $30,000 to borrow $1 million
This debt binge simply cannot continue. The same old deficit spending the Republicans have relied on for decades is not good governance; it’s an annual tax-and-borrow cycle of irresponsible spending and passing the buck to our children, many of whom are already bent under the burden of college loans.
In addition to doing the Treasurer job, I believe the town clearly needs to
- Increase public involvement to gather ideas, educate, and gain consensus about financial priorities
- Develop a financial strategic plan to control capital spending, tax increases and pay down the debt
- Post regular Treasurer reports on the town’s website
- Improve decision-making and transparency overall
I will work to make these happen.
Background
Currently retired, I have worked as a tutor and learning specialist in local private schools for 20 years; taught five years in Washington, DC public schools in the city’s lowest income districts; and supplemented my income with a home-based private tutoring business. I also served as case manager for my mother who had Alzheimer’s disease, becoming an employer on my mother’s behalf for several years. I thus understand taxation from the viewpoints of employer, employee and business owner. As a single working parent, I raised one child in Litchfield who was graduated from Litchfield High School and is now a successful career professional. I care deeply about education and Litchfield schools.
In December 2013 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and my private insurance company quickly terminated my health insurance due to my pre-existing condition. I faced losing my home and entire retirement savings to pay for just one year of treatments out-of-pocket. Fortunately, the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, was implemented in January 2014 and saved my life both literally and financially. Currently I advocate for affordable quality healthcare as a volunteer facilitator for the Protect Our Care (POC) campaign with the regional group Democracy Awakens, working with the non-profit Universal Healthcare CT on the statewide POC campaign.
I have likewise been deeply involved in local conservation and historic preservation for many years as a former Litchfield Land Trust Board member and volunteer public information specialist on issues important to the town. These include the new Litchfield District Courthouse, Bantam River/Bantam Lake, Litchfield Schools Project and recently, an eight-unit housing proposal in the Naugatuck River Headwaters on Rt. 202. I continue to pursue environmental interests such as organic food and farming advocacy and have developed the workshop and presentation, “Mindful Diet,” to inform the public about toxic agricultural chemicals and conversely, the “nutritarian” diet for optimum health and disease prevention. My current health status is “no evidence of disease.”
Through these experiences, I have gained significant knowledge and insight about the town’s finances and how to live well within a tight budget. The town’s profligate deficit spending and poor decisions must end. Electing the Democratic team will ensure a new era of transparency, responsibility and improved decision making for the town.