Feb. 9 Update From Bethel First Selectman Carter

**News Release Submitted by Bethel First Selectman Dan Carter**

Feb. 9, 2024

Dear Bethel,

All the town department heads have presented their budgets to the Board of Selectman and the Board of Finance. The Board of Education will present their budget Tuesday, February 13th at Town Hall in Meeting Room A at 7 pm. The next steps will be deliberations by the Board of Selectmen on February 20th and presentation of the budget to the Board of Finance by the First Selectman on February 27th.

On Tuesday, February 13th there will also be a special town meeting at 6 pm in Meeting Room A at the Town Hall to discuss adding an additional early voting location for the Presidential Primary in April. Last year a new law established 4 days of early voting for presidential primaries, excluding holidays and Easter in 2024. Bethel’s main early voting location on April 2nd for the Presidential Primary will be in Town Hall, Meeting Room A. (We are expecting inclement weather early next week. Check social media or call 203-794-8502 for cancellation.)

Two terms you will hear during town budget discussions are Education Cost Sharing (ECS) and Excess Cost. The ECS is based on a formula to provide state funding that helps Bethel with the costs of educating our kids. Excess Cost is a grant that is provided by the state to assist us in paying for special education expenses for students with extraordinary needs. Together, they represent an important part of the revenue we rely on when we create our annual town budget.
Governor Lamont released his budget this week. Unfortunately, the Governor’s proposed ECS funding is over $468k less that we are expecting and the Excess Cost grant is almost $497k less. As you can imagine, Bethel losing $965k in expected revenue is significant. While attending the Connecticut Council of Small Towns Town Meeting this week, we learned that some legislators are still trying to fully fund Bethel, but nothing is certain. If you want to make your voice heard, visit https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/cgafindleg.asp and let your State Representative and State Senator know your thoughts.

Bethel Water customers: If you see an E as your read code on your water bill, your Meter Interface Unit (MIU) needs to be repaired. If your MIU is outside, you may have our contractor stopping by to repair it in the next few weeks. If your MIU is inside, please call 203-794-8509 to set up an appointment. Don’t pay more for your water than you have to. It’s a fast and free repair.

Uncle Leo’s & Rosny Gourmet is holding a fundraiser in honor of Emily Todd. Their special purple iced “kindness” donuts are available until February 11th. Visit www.peaceloveandem.org for more information about Em and the foundation!

The Bethel Police are hosting their first “Coffee with a Cop” for 2024 on February 14th from 3 pm to 6 pm at the Bethel Police Department. Enjoy coffee, chocolate, tours of the PD and special guest, K9 Rebel.

WorkspaceCT is planning special programs for the Presidents’ Day long weekend, including a Ladies-Night Out Pop-Up and Quilling Card-Making Class on Friday, February 16th from 6 pm to 8 pm and a full-day Presidents’ Day Enrichment Camp on Monday, February 19th from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm where students (grade 1 and up) will learn how to make homemade pasta, participate in a scavenger hunt, make T-shirts and more! Go to www.workspacect.org/events to register.
Having an issue with a federal agency? Congresswoman Hayes has her staff available to help at a “Casework on Your Corner” event on February 20th at the Danbury City Hall, Room 3C from 11 am to 4 pm. Call 860-223-8412 or visit https://hayes.house.gov/help-with-a-federal-agency for more information.

Shout out to the volunteers from Bethel Fire & EMS, the Stony Hill Fire Company, and the Bethel PD for another quick response to a structure fire early Thursday morning. And a big thank you to all the other responding departments in our neighboring towns. We are so grateful for all you do! (Contact one of the fire departments if you are interested in attending a meeting or joining!)
Congrats to the Bethel Boys Indoor Track on their SWC championship!

A big congrats to our Athletes of the Week, Avery Englund for breaking her own school shot put record and Kyle Kurtz for gold in the 55H, Pole Vault, and the 4x200 M relays! Way to go!

The Lady Wildcats had a huge victory over Immaculate this week! Great job!

The IceCats racked up another win this week over Wilton!

Shoutout to Alex Roberts who finished 3rd out of 125 girls in her Class S Race with the Connecticut Interscholastic Ski League this week!

Good luck to Team Ruff this Sunday in the Puppy Bowl! https://daws.org/dawspuppybowl

Have a great weekend!

Dan