The outcome of the April 2 Town Meeting was to send a budget of just under $75 million to machine vote in a town-wide referendum to be held on Wednesday, April 11. This budget is a $2 million or 2.76 percent increase in spending over the FY 2017-2018 budget. In addition, the budget proposal includes $2.3 million in capital item expenditures, including a highway truck and street sweeper, a replacement fire engine, turf field and track resurfacing, and high school HVAC work. Because of growth in the Grand List, the projected FY 2018-2019 mil rate is 33.04, a year-over-year increase of 0.16 or $16 per $100,000 in assessed value.

In the operating budget, required contractual increases — salaries and benefits, transportation — account for over half (58 percent) of the spending increase. In keeping with one of our key principles, “Invest in Bethel,” the budget allows for an additional police officer, a $200,000 increase in annual road repairs and an assistant director and van driver for the senior center.

A second key principle is to “Reduce Debt,” which drives the commitment to pay cash from the operating budget rather than to use short-term debt for infrastructure items such as a highway department truck, garage and facility updates, culvert and water main replacements, emergency communication generator and critical fire department equipment. By paying cash for these priority items, we prevent incurring more short-term debt and higher interest fees, thus saving taxpayers money in future budget years. Also, as we follow this principle, the need to borrow for major capital items, such as this year’s capital proposal, will decrease.

Bethel is benefiting from growth in its Grand List and has the unique opportunity to achieve both its goals of investment and debt reduction with a modest 0.16 increase in the mill rate. Because the town’s people choose to invest in the town, Bethel is an attractive, robust community with excellent schools. By investing and paying down debt today, we will be able to keep the town affordable and financially healthy in the years to come.

The Democratic members of the Bethel Board of Finance respectfully ask Bethel voters to approve the budget proposals Wednesday in the April 11 referendum by voting yes on all three questions.

Bob Manfreda, Chairman

Dalene Foster

Robert Palmer

Wendy Smith

Claudia Stephan