Opinion: A Letter In Support of Matt Knickerbocker For First Selectman

A Letter to the Editor Written By Jon Menti

The phrase “small government” has appeared often in this year’s campaign literature. Will Duff has been promising small government, but in the next breath promises to make our snowplows run every hour, on the hour, a task that is physically and mathematically impossible. It is crystal clear he has no idea what he needs to do, nor how to do it.

The real work of keeping your town government small and efficient is already being done by the person already in the office, Matt Knickerbocker.

Here are the facts:

• Today our town hall has fewer full time employees than it did in 2009. Town government has not grown at all, despite the massive amount of new work being performed for Bethel residents.
• The current administration just recently concluded three key labor negotiations that will provide significant savings to Bethel taxpayers. These include:
• New 401(k) type retirement plans will replace traditional pensions for new employees
• New health high deductable health savings account insurance plans, providing significant savings to Bethel taxpayers while delivering better coverage to employees
• An end to “longevity payments”

Keeping government “small” is not a matter of making empty promises that no First Selectman can keep. It requires extensive business skills and management experience, just two of the qualities Knickerbocker exhibits every day.
Know the facts. Choose the candidate with the background, education and experience to protect your town.