Branford RTM Welcomes Another New Member

Yesterday Branford Patch brought you , who was sworn back in to the RTM as a representative of Branford's fifth district. Today we're bringing you a conversation with Branford's other new RTM member, Robert Imperato.

Imperato is replacing James Amarante in the fourth district. He is a newcomer to the RTM, and will be sworn in Thursday, May 24 at 6 p.m. at .

• Tell me a little about yourself and what you do.

Well, I grew up in East Haven, but I've lived in Branford for about 23 years now. I have four children. My profession is banking & finance - I have an advisory company called Strategic Advisers. And I'm currently serving on the Water Pollution Control Authority. I've also been involved in volunteering, through sports, with my children - I've served on Branford's youth football and hockey teams.

• What's your history with Branford politics?

I'm really a newcomer to Branford politics. I decided to get involved over the last couple years, when I started looking at where Branford is heading and decided to help make sure we keep Branford on track.

• What will you be focusing on at your first RTM meeting?

Well, I'm going to be placed on the Ways & Means committee. I'll probably start by look at the current board of finance requests - we'll try to shepherd those through and make sure we're making the best possible decisions for Branford. There are also a number of other things going on - making sure our seniors are being taken care of, drawing new folks to Branford, keeping the folks that are here, and keeping the tax base in check.

• What kind of public issues are you interested in looking at?

I think we're currently looking at new facilities for public works, and a new facility for senior citizens. Those are expensive, and I want to make sure we're not cutting services in lieu of creating new buildings. Branford has a number of great parks & recreation facilities, and we want to make sure those are kept open to the taxpayers. We've done a pretty good job of keeping our mill rate in check. We need to do that and keep the bond rating up. We need to keep creating new opportunities for businesses to come into town, and thus creating more job opportunities and bringing families.

• What big successes have you seen in Branford so far?

Branford's government has done a great job in getting us here. But it's going to take some different methodologies to keep it moving forward. We need a team of individuals on both the Republican and Democratic side to work together to keep it going in that direction. We'll keep Branford going by working on comraderie across the aisles. And I would like to focus my energies on that bipartisanship.

• What are your favorite things to do in Branford?

First of all, the restaurants are fantastic. Beaches and parks are part of our agenda too - I'm close to , and we visit there a lot. Some of the facilities and programs we have here are terrific as far as opportunities for seniors and youth. It's important to give our seniors a chance to travel outside, to go to shows, and go shopping. And finally, the recreation department has done a good job in creating our summer programs.