6/30/2023 A Message from First Selectman Bindelglass

The end of the fiscal year is June 30. We begin a new fiscal year with an annual budget of $48,574,643. That is an increase of 3.97%.  Our grand list increased by 1.1% to $1,498,665,020. Your taxes are increasing by 1.08% to 28.96 mills.

Many of you have noticed substantial increases in the tax bills for your cars. This is not a function of the tax rate, but it relates to the value of your cars. Your taxes reflect the mill rate times the assessed value. The value of used cars has increased greatly since the pandemic, as you have undoubtedly heard on the news. While prices have come down somewhat lately, assessments are done on October 1, so the latest assessment was done October 1, 2022. The town uses the NADA guide for valuations available at https://www.nada.org/nada/consumer-vehicle-values. 

The tax bills were mailed the last week in June.  Payments are due July 1, 2023, but taxpayers have until August 1, 2023 to pay without penalty.  Bills can be paid online (with vendor fee) by clicking the blue link on the tax collector’s page on the town’s web page, https://www.eastonct.gov/. 

Your second installment payment slip for January’s real estate payment is included on your July bill (middle section).  No new bill will be sent for January.  If you have not received your bills by July 1, or feel you are missing any, please contact our office at 203-268-6291, Ext. 140 or 141. 

The insert included with your bill includes information about where your tax dollars are going, as well as general information about your tax bills.

As always, if you have any questions regarding your tax bill(s), please don’t hesitate to call the tax collector’s office or stop by. 

Many of you may have noticed some further work at the parking lot of the Easton Village store. Advanced Environmental Redevelopment, the environmental specialists who have been working with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the owner, have been asked to do two areas of soil sampling within the parking lot. Our inland wetlands enforcement officer was present for the excavation on June 28. The samples will be tested and then the soil which has been excavated will be removed to an appropriate facility for disposal. The town will continue to monitor this process.

The second season of Grow a Row started two weeks ago, and we have had a bounty of produce donated each week!  Our seniors are happy to receive their bags of fruits and veggies, but more importantly, are grateful for the contact with the volunteers who deliver to them.  A huge thank you to Shaggy Coos for being “base camp” and to Patti Popp for her donations, as well as the other gardeners who shared their produce and to the wonderful volunteers who are helping this year to deliver the produce to our homebound seniors!  If you are interested in volunteering, donating yields from your garden or just want to know more about Grow a Row please contact Alison Witherbee, Municipal Agent for the Aging, at 203-268-1137 or email her at awitherbee@eastonct.gov.

Just a friendly reminder, there will be a day of celebration and support for Ukraine on Sunday, July 9 from 1:00pm to dusk at Ukraine American Club, 279 Kings Drive, Southport. Tickets are free. Free food, free limited bar, family friendly activities and all day entertainment. For more information please click here: LymanAID: CT ❤️ Ukraine Fundraiser Tickets, Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite.  Hope to see you there and please consider donating to our sister city Sviatohirsk at https://www.ukraineaidinternational.org/easton-and-sviatohirsk. I believe that this is a great activity for all of us to undertake together. Also, please join us for Easton-Sviatohirsk Family Sunflower Festival on Saturday, July 15 from 10:30-1:00 at the Samuel Staples sunflower field in the front of the school.  There will be many, many fun activities for children. More details to follow.

This week we switched over to Frontier in town hall which provides faster internet and at lower cost.

Town Offices will be closed on Tuesday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day.

Have a great weekend.

Dave