April 4 Update From Bethel First Selectman Carter

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

April 4, 2025

Dear Bethel,

Budget Referendum

The Town Meeting voted to send the town and school budget to a referendum on April 22nd. Voting will take place between 6 am and 8 pm at your regular polling locations. If you will be out of town, absentee ballots are available at the Town Clerk’s office. Access the budget at: https://bethel-ct.gov/depts-comptroller.

Appraised value vs Assessed Value

When calculating taxes, state law sets the assessed value of property is 70% of the appraised value. Appraised and assessed values are on your field card on the Assessor’s page of the town website. Assessed value is also on tax bills. The current mill rate estimate is 30.41, a correction from the last update. A home appraised at $400k has a $280k assessed value. To calculate tax, divide the assessed value by 1000 and multiply by the mill rate. With the current mill rate (29.17), a $400k home is taxed at $8,168. ($280,000/1000 = 280 x 29.17 = $8,168) The estimated tax for a $400k home in the next fiscal year is $8,518. ($280,000/1000 = 280 x 30.41 = $8,515)

Planning and Zoning Hearings

Continued public hearing for 53 Taylor Rd. (8-30g affordable housing 26 units) and new hearings for 185 Grassy Plain Street (Volleyball/Basketball/Pickleball Facility) and 117 Chestnut Ridge Road (Re-subdivision to 2 lots) are scheduled for Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7 pm in Town Hall Meeting Room D. Learn more at https://bethel-ct.gov/2025-zoning.

Sale of 19 Trowbridge Dr.

The Economic Development Commission has accepted an offer on 19 Trowbridge Dr. in Francis J. Clarke Business Park. This is the last of four properties developed for sale by the town. The Board of Selectmen has scheduled a public hearing on April 15th at 6:30pm at Town Hall in Meeting Room A. Planning and Zoning, the Board of Selectmen, and the Board of Finance will have to approve the sale.

Wi-Fi Smoke Detectors

Fire Safety Week is a long way off, but one of our neighbors contacted Town Hall this week with a great lesson. A friend’s home and dog in town were recently saved by a Ring device that heard a smoke detector. Our neighbor wanted to remind us that there are multiple options online for Wi-Fi smoke and carbon dioxide detectors that will notify you in an emergency. When you do your monthly check of your batteries, consider an upgrade!

Climate Action Survey

Western Connecticut Council of Governments is asking for 10 minutes of your time to fill out the Southwest Connecticut Climate Action Survey. Survey Link: https://forms.gle/NnqVraD6t8AnanfS8. The survey closes on April 30th. Find more info at https://www.swctclimate.com/.

Wildcat Brick Fundraiser
Attention Wildcat Alumni! Leave a lasting legacy with a custom brick in the BHS Legacy Wall at the DeSantis Field snack shed. For more info visit https://donate.brickmarkers.com/bhs.

Hazardous Waste Drop-Off

Don’t forget the Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Day for Bethel residents is tomorrow, April 5th at the Danbury Public Works Facility at 53 Newtown Rd. from 9 am to 2 pm. Check out what you can and can’t dispose of at https://hrra.org/household-hazardous-waste.

Weekend Wildcat Sports

Catch local sports tomorrow! JV Boys Lacrosse vs Brien McMahon - BMS Turf Lacrosse Field at 11:00 am, Varsity Boys Lacrosse vs. Brien McMahon - BMS Turf Lacrosse Field at 1:00 pm, and Varsity Softball vs. Norwalk - Kisling Field at 11am.

Cultural Alliance of Western CT
Support the Cultural Alliance of Western CT and keep arts in our community! Join me as your guest bartender at Broken Symmetry to support the Cultural Alliance of Western CT on April 9th from 4 pm to 9 pm. 10% of sales and 100% of donations go directly to CAWCT. Check out https://www.brokensymmetrybrew.com/events/cawct-fundraiser for more info.

DAWS Adoption Event

DAWS is hosting an Adoption Event at Volkswagen Danbury next Saturday, April 12th from 11am to 1pm. Join them for raffle prizes and even some doggy treats from Woof Gang Bakery Danbury! Fill out your online application today so you can be preapproved and leave with your new best friend! https://daws.org/events-calendar/.

Ability Beyond Gala

Join Ability Beyond for their Gala & Beyond: The Magic Within on Saturday, April 26th. Celebrate alongside a magical community of supporters, family members, and people they serve they we honor The Finkelstein Family. For information and tickets: https://e.givesmart.com/events/GDm/

Shoutouts

A shoutout to the Bethel High School Math Team! They placed 6th in thier division for the state tournament! Akkili Chiranjeevi individually placed 11th overall for seniors! Way to go!

Congrats to the Bethel Police Department Officer of the Year, Danilo DeOliveira and all the annual award winners! Thank you for your dedication and all you have accomplished to keep Bethel Safe.

A huge shoutout to the Bethel High School Debate Team! At the State Championships, Bethel had the most students qualified for the tournament of any school in the state! The team of Willa Zalaznick and Jack Woleck placed first overall to take the State Championship! Willa also won top speaker in the state! Congratulations to all on a great season!

Our Johnson School team won 1st place at the Odyssey of the Mind Connecticut State competition! Congratulations Nitya Kalluri, Sreshta Pydi, Advay Kodoth, Zuha Khan, Vedant Patel, Krithika Rudresh, and Nithya Mayara!

A huge congrats and thank you to the Bethel Winter Guard! Congrats on your amazing performance and moving to the semi-finals at the World Color Guard Championships in Ohio! It was so fun to be an honorary roadie!

Correction from last Friday Update: Town Hall is open until 6:00 pm on Thursday evenings.

Have a great weekend!
Dan