Politics & Government
Opinion: Vote 'No - Too High' on Tuesday, April 21
Ironically, it is Bethel, one of the least wealthy towns in our area, who pays the highest local property taxes.
Written by Cynthia McCorkindale, Billy Michael, Bethel Action Committee (BAC)
Three front page articles concerning local property taxes have appeared in the NewsTimes since last June. In each of these articles, Bethel has had the distinction of having the second-highest taxes compared to neighboring municipalities.
If Bethel’s comparative wealth ranking relative to median household and per capita income had been included in these articles, it would be abundantly clear that home, business and automobile owners in the town with the lowest income and ability to pay are saddled with the second-highest effective tax rates in the area.
Find out what's happening in Bethelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Prior to the last Revaluation, Bethel’s Grand List of taxable property was approximately $2.3 billion dollars. The current Grand List is approximately $1.8 billion. This huge drop of over $400 million in property values (personal wealth) reflects the decline in Connecticut’s state and local economies and suggests why so many of its residents are moving south.
Unconcerned with the current level of overtaxation ($32.11 for every $1,000 of assessed property), our town leaders minimize this fact by characterizing their proposed $75 average annual tax increase as an insignificant extra $6.00 per month to the average Bethel homeowner. What they avoid publicizing is the fact that the average single family house in Bethel is assessed at $217,000, resulting in $6,967 of taxes annually.
Find out what's happening in Bethelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The problem confronting Bethel home, car and business owners is not the estimated 1.% proposed tax increase, but rather the exorbitant base to which this tax increase will be added .
Moreover. the $71 million budget isn’t the whole picture - taxpayers also face an additional $1.9 million in short term bonding on Tuesday’s ballot, a proposed $14 million police station returning for a future referendum and a $50 to $70 million dollar schools renovation package that Town officials will crusade for once voters approve the police station construction.
The arduous and difficult task of restraining overspending and keeping Bethel affordable begins by voting No - Too High on Tuesday April 21st.
Cynthia McCorkindale
Billy Michael
Bethel Action Committee (BAC)
