Opinion: Knickerbocker: 'Do You Really Believe a New First Selectman Will Have the Ability to Lower the Mill Rate or Taxes?'

Editor’s note: Bethel Patch will accept letters to the editor on behalf of political candidates through Wednesday, Oct. 28. Email your letter to wendy.mitchell@patch.com. Below is a Letter to the Editor from Matthew Knickerbocker, First Selectman, in response to Billy Michael’s letter. Click the link below to read Billy Michael’s letter.

Opinion: Billy Michael Says: ‘Let’s Give Bethel Back to the People!’

A Letter to the Editor from Matthew Knickerbocker, First Selectman:

“One of the features of the internet age is that anyone can post anything whey want without regard to facts, nor can they be held accountable for what they say. Mr. Michael’s absurd ramblings are a testiment to fictional writing.

Bethel Forward? The selectmen have no right to vote on it; it’s a P&Z process. Will it make taxes go up? No. His comments reflect a total lack of understanding of municipal finances.

Fact: new development holds taxes DOWN. This past budget season Bethel had a near-zero tax rate change (0.2%). Why? Not because of the budget; it was ENTIRELY because of new development, both commercial and residential, that brought in new tax revenue. Do you really believe a new FS will have the ability to lower the mill rate or taxes? Serioiusly? If the office of the FS had the authority to do that, don’t you think it would have been done by now? What town leader would NOT want to actually lower the budget, lower taxes without any consequences whatsoever? No angry parents over bigger classrooms. No upset residents that we don’t have enough snowplow trucks to get the roads cleared. He’d be reelected forever. Those are set by the Board of Finance.

And in case you forgot, two years ago, when it took 4 tries to pass a town-side budget, that debacle began when the Board of Finance itself INCREASED the budget over and above what the Board of Selectmen gave them by $140,000, one full percentage point higher than what I personally recommended. So when Will Duff says he’s going to “make government smaller,” no, he really isn’t. He can’t. First Selectmen do not have veto power. Board of Finance rules. The rest of Mr. Michael’s baseless accusations are so outlandish they almost insult our voter’s intelligence.

For charter revision, the two parties did the “hand picking” not me or the BOS. We (the BOS) approved exactly who was recommended by their internal processes. Finally, let’s not forget what our political landscape was like before 2009. Bitter political fighting, an empty library addition that was funded by your tax dollars but sat unfinished and unused for almost a decade, a falling general fund, millions of dollars of debt in the utility department, a downgraded bond rating, unfinished sewer project, roads that were half destroyed... I could go on.

The point is, in out town meeting form of government, power and authority is decentralized. Power is spread over the main boards and commissions, most notably the Board of Finance, Board of Education and Planning and Zoning Commission.

And finally, the voters themselves. Nearly every important thing we do, including setting the budget that determines tax, is decided by referendum. The voters themselves decided the final balance between what they are willing to pay for the services they will receive. I well understand that not everyone is going to be happy with the outcome of every vote and every budget. But it is our process as a community that produces it. For a FS to succeed in this structure, he or she must be able to provide a vision for others to consider, work cooperatively with the other boards and commissions that have final authority obtain the resources needed to make these things happen.

For six years, I have demonstrated the ability to do these things for our town. Mr. Duff has done nothing but lob accusations and make promises that no First Selectman can keep. I urge voters not to be fooled by the usual empty promises we hear at election time.”