2/25/22 A Message from First Selectman Bindelglass
Good afternoon,
Hopefully, you are recovering from today’s storm. For the week ending February 19th, there were only four new cases of COVID in Easton, therefore, as I mentioned last week, we will in fact remove the mask mandate for public buildings on February 28th. To further clarify, we will not ask anyone for their vaccination status, however if you are unvaccinated I strongly urge you to consider wearing a mask in public for both your safety and the safety of others.
The Board of Finance will begin reviewing budgets on Tuesday, March 1st. Meetings will be held on March 1st, 2nd,3rd, 8th and 9th starting at 7:00 pm at the Easton Senior Center. The Board of Education will be presenting their budget to the Board of Finance on Tuesday, March 8th. The meetings will be hybrid with a Zoom option for viewing only. If you wish to share, you must attend in person. This is a good opportunity to see the preliminary budgets for different town departments. Once presentations are completed, the budget will be presented at the public hearing to be held on March 21st at 7:00 pm at SSES cafetorium. After the public hearing, the Board of Finance will invite some departments to return to consider adjusting their budgets before the final budget is submitted at the town meeting on April 25th at 7:00 pm at SSES. The referendum will be held on May 3rd from 6:00 am – 8:00 pm. The schedule for budget presentations can be viewed at https://www.eastonct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3071/f/uploads/board_of_finance_budget_calendar_2022-2023.pdf
The Assessor will be finalizing the grand list on February 28th. This is the total value of all the real estate, motor vehicles and personal property in town. Once the budget is passed, the mill rate will be calculated. The mill rate multiplied by the assessed value of your property determines your taxes. It is important to understand that most people are happy to know that their houses have increased in value. Just because the value of your property has increased does not mean that your taxes will increase by the same amount or even at all. The taxes you pay are determined by the town’s budget and the mill rate the town sets. Also, when the grand list increases, it is not just because the values of existing properties have risen, but instead may reflect increased new revenue from new construction, for instance which is positive for the town.
We look forward to seeing each other’s faces again in town hall without masks, and hope this is the beginning of a return to a more normal life. Be safe.
Have a great weekend,
Dave