New Tolland Town Manager Brian Foley takes the reins. He might look familiar.
The first three days of Brian Foley’s tenure as Tolland’s town manager were full of back-to-back-to-back meetings, mainly with the town’s department heads and staff.
Foley said he was “aggressive” in how he scheduled his first few weeks, as he wants to learn as much as possible about everything going on in town, and in as much detail as possible.
“It’s about me learning,” he said. “There’s just so much to sift through. I like to read policies and such prior to the meetings, but I’ve been losing time to prep.”
Foley has served as the assistant to the Commissioner-State of Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) since 2019. Prior to that, his service included a variety of positions with the Hartford Police Department from 1994 to 2018, including as deputy chief of police, commander of the Major Crimes Division, commander and investigator for the Internal Affairs Division, patrol supervisor and Homicide/Major Crimes detective.
He also served as a chief investigator for Fox 61 WTIC from 2018-19. Foley serves on a number of boards and commissions, including servicing as vice chair of the Urban League of Greater Hartford.
Foley holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology/criminal justice from Central Connecticut University and is a senior management graduate of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).
Foley said that his interactions with the staff have been about discussing expectations of each other, and filling in all of the details of ongoing and upcoming projects, as well as day-to-day operations.
“One thing that’s become clear, and that’s after working in a large city, and now Tolland, is that I have a really fantastic team here,” he said.
Among the issues he plans to work on as soon as possible are the crumbling foundations and the salt in the well water.
“When you look at the salt, one thing is going to be determining how we fix it,” he said. “Is that through new wells? Is that through providing bottled water? Is that through getting water to people’s houses through town water?”
Foley said the crux of his job will be to guide Tolland’s growth into the future, however that looks regarding the balance between development and keeping the town’s character.
“It’s about building out the infrastructure so that the town can grow and expand at a rate that is acceptable and fair to our tax base,” he said. “Some people are going to like it and some people aren’t. So we’re going to have some decisions to make, but as much consensus as we can get, I’d appreciate trying to gather.”
When asked how he hopes the residents of Tolland judge his performance over time, Foley said he would consider the ability to maintain or improve the quality of life and quality of services, and to help provide and maintain a good school system.
“And then, again, that the town has some growth. As the world changes, the town should be able to adjust accordingly,” he said. “You want a strong residential tax base. We have that. You also want a strong business and industrial tax base, and that’s to create jobs, as well. So, you look for that balance. Right now, it seems we’re a little heavy on the residential side. So, that’s something we’ll try to shift, to some degree.”
For those looking for stability and longevity in Tolland’s new executive, Foley said he not only has stakes in the game, with a home in town and a child in Tolland’s schools, but already has a partial exit plan, albeit quite some time down the road.
“I intend on staying here for about 12 years, maybe getting my daughter through college,” he said. “I’m so honored to be here. It’s such a great team and a great council, they’ve been so supportive. I owe them a lot of time and I intend to give them that.”
By then (circa 2034), he hopes to have already trained Tolland’s next manager, and make the transition easier and seamless.
“I’d like to not have to hire a recruiter. I’d like to develop talent internally,” he said.
For more information, visit www.tollandct.gov.
