BETHEL — Town Manager Sharon Jackson said Bethel’s mil rate is expected to rise to around $14.10 from $12.90, based on a preliminary look by the town’s assessor. She broke down the increases at an April 16 meeting between the selectboard and the budget committee, one of several meetups between the two groups as the town readies for town meeting on June 12.

A significant increase is at the Transfer Station where this year’s proposed budget is $825,955, up from $679,069 last year.

“The only thing that changed was an increase of 3.2% for the transfer station workers.  The rest of it is all the tipping and the hauling fees.

“As long as you do not charge contractors to dispose of construction debris you are going to have everybody and their brother coming in,” said Jackson.

Budget Committee member Jim Bennett expressed frustration with previous tri-town solid waste committees whose ideas were consistently rejected.

Of prior ideas to enforce fees at the transfer station, Jodrey said, “it is unfair to think the employees of the transfer station have to deal with this.”

The combined committee agreed to approve the recommended budget for the transfer station.

A suggestion by Fire Chief Mike Jodrey is to implement a scaled fee system for building permits based on the size of the building.  “You can build a $10 million house for a $25 building fee,” he said.

Other significant increases are a $1.2 million increase in the water budget and the anticipated $1.4 million proposed school budget.

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