BETHEL, NY — With town revenue more than 4 percent higher than last year, the Town of Bethel is in “good shape,” said supervisor Daniel Sturm at the May 14 town board meeting. General funds and revenues in several town departments are healthy, construction activity in Bethel is up, and the parks and recreation department is preparing for summer activities around the corner, he said.

Councilmember Lillian Hendrickson announced that she would be retiring at the end of her current term on December 31.

Bethel’s general fund is healthy and growing

The revenue increase of 4.3 percent from last year totaled an additional $75,000 for the town. “We had a very good year last year in revenue, and we’re right on target to hit that again.” Sturm specified that $29,000 was spent on battery-operated landscape equipment, including a riding mower, a push mower, a leaf blower and a snow blower, which were paid for with a grant for which the town will be reimbursed. There were other expenses for which the state will reimburse the town.

Building and highway department revenue increase

Revenue that came into the building department for construction and to the highway department also increased over last year, despite expenditures related to the cold and snowy winter of 2024-25.

Getting ready for summer

A new playground that was installed in 2023 on the forest reserve property in Smallwood came at no cost to taxpayers. 

According to the supervisor, the $64,000 cost was ultimately covered in full by a $15,000 award from Sullivan 180 as well as the use of leftover stimulus funds.

The playground sits within a wooded scenic environment and is available to be used by all Bethel residents and their families. In 2024, with money awarded by Sullivan 180, chess tables were installed. Additional playground equipment will be added this summer with no additional burden to taxpayers.

Bethel summer camp

Bethel summer camp hiring is well underway for the 2025 season with the camp leadership position at $20 per hour, program and arts and crafts instructors at $18.50 and $17.25 per hour respectively, and camp counselors at $16.10 per hour already hired. Positions of park attendants, lifeguards and aquatic directors still need to be filled.  

“The camp director is focusing on hiring some people with a little more experience this year,” Strumn said. In previous years, many of those positions had been filled by younger people, and the director is trying “to get a little more maturity in the camp.”

Last summer, between 30 and 35 campers spent full days at camp, with about 100 campers attending mornings between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Litterpluck success 

In April, a large group of people participated in a litterpluck, including 30 to 35 from the senior center. They picked up more than 3,000 pounds of trash from 16 of Bethel’s roads. The Town of Bethel and Bethel Sanitation picked up the cost of the litterpluck.