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8/12/2019 Assessment of Bethel CT 2014
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Fordham University
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SERVICES SWKO 6208 Human Behavior & the Social Environment I
Neighborhood Assessment - Bethel Connecticut
By: Daniel R. Gaita
February 2014
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Demographic Background
Bethel Connecticut is a small New England town with a population, according to
the 2010 United States Census, of 18,581 residents. The median age of the
population is 42 with 51.3% female and 48.7& male. 7.6% of the community is
Hispanic or Latino. Race demographics are charted below:
31.1% of the population is made up of children under the age of 18. 35.9% of
Bethel households have children under the age of 18 while 24.4% of households
have individuals aged 65 and over. Bethel provides 7,306 housing units with
94.9% being occupied. 77.4% of these housing units are owner-occupied.
(2010 Census)
88.8%
1.8%4.5% 2.8%
Bethel, CT Population % By Race &
EthincitySource: US Census
White
Black
Asian
Other
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Specific Neighborhood Economics Defined
Bethel is located in the State of Connecticut, the wealthiest state in the United
States and sits inside of Fairfield County, which has the highest per capita
income in the state. As demonstrated in the charts below, Bethel has a lagging
per capita income of only $36,608 placing it not only below the county average,
but also below the State average. (US Census)
This subtle difference typically goes unnoticed by most. But to those tasked with
creating annual budgets, this creates major challenges as the Towns residents
are not financially equipped to provide the same level of services as neighboring
communities. Because of the above mentioned challenges the town must either
raise tax rates or increase fees to provide the same services or they must reduce
or cut services all together.
Bethel Fairfield County Connecticut Nation
$36,608$48,295
$36,774 $27,343
$88,286$100,593
$84,170$62,982
Bethel CT Income Vs. County, State and
NationSource:
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk
Per Capita Median Income
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Historical Development
Bethel (which means house of God) first settled around 1700. A large number of
Bethels affairs were handled through the Congregational church then. In April of
1777 Bethels historical records were burned by the British during the British raid
on Danbury. In the late 1700sP.T. Barnums grandfather built one of the towns
earliest hotels, the Barnum Tavern. The Town Center is also defined by the U.S.
Census Bureau as an historic district.(US Census)
Geography and Environmental Influences
Bethel has a town center of 4.1 square miles, a total area of 16.9 square miles
with 16.8 square miles of land and .1 square mile of water. Bethel is bordered by
Newtown to the east, Danbury to the west, Brookfield to the north and Redding to
the south. Bethel is also conveniently situated along Interstate 84, as well as
along Routes 6,58, 53, 25,and 302. The dynamic access to multiple local, state
and federal roadways and
infrastructures make
Bethel an easy commute
to surrounding areas.
Bethel also sits along the
Metro-North Railway
system and has its own
train station. This allows residents to easily find mass transportation to virtually
any location in America, including the relatively close major cities of New York,
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NY and Boston, MA. Additionally, Bethel is along the Danbury Housatonic Area
Bus Transportation System (HART) route providing another means of accessing
mass transportation to locations along designated routes.
Bethel sits in the Northeast region of the United States, her residents can look
forward to enjoying four seasons and the spectacular display of colors in the fall
and an amazing bloom of foliage and color in the spring and summer.
Beliefs and Attitudes
Bethel has manifested into divided population segments. Not along race,
ethnicity, or religion, but more along differing ideologies between the schoolees
and townees. The schoolees are represented by the students, parents,
teachers, and administrators while the townees are represented by the residents
of the community living
on fixed incomes that
no longer have children
in the school systems.
Those fighting to fund
the schools in Bethel
often come up against
those fighting to reign
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in taxes and spending. The key factor in these differing ideologies lay in the
interpretation and implementation of required state and federal education
mandates.
Those outside of the education process are not aware of the influence that these
mandates have on education costs thus they are not fully aware of how and why
education costs continue to rise while their fixed incomes remain flat.
Bethel hosts several collective bargaining units, also known as Unions which
compounds the challenge of increasing costs. Many have demonstrated
reluctance to spending halts or reductions to wages, salary and benefits costs for
member employees. As a result, when education budgets are voted down,
teachers are laid off, class sizes grows, and the ripple effect punishes the next
generation.
The townees believe the schools should not be asking for more money while at
the same time the schoolees are trying to cut costs while maintaining all required
educational mandates in order to obtain the promised state and federal education
dollars, which are, by law due, for mandated education costs.
As these issues continue to surface during budget seasons, the townees and
schoolees continue to battle with each other over annual budgets instead of
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taking their frustration to the state and federal government for failing to fund
100% of their mandates as required by law.
A second key issue specific to local beliefs and attitudes is in the method by
which the town provides selective funding for Non-Governmental-Agencies such
as Meals On Wheel, and the Womens Center. Many residents have asked for
line item authority via ballot to determine what agencies receive their tax dollars
while others argue that taking away funds from any of the many agencies being
currently funded would be detrimental.
Finally, Bethel is proud of its Town Hallform of government whereby its
residents meet annually to agree upon or make changes to the Board of Finance
and Board of Selectmens proposed budgets prior to that budget being placed on
an annual referendum ballot for passage. Residents share a belief that this form
of government keeps control of spending in the hands of the voters / tax payers,
rather than a select few elected Selectmen.
Local Politics
Bethel has approximately 11,000 registered voters, half of whom are registered
unaffiliated and the other half split fairly evenly between the major Democratic
and Republican Party. Dont let the simplicity of these numbers fool you. Every
two years Bethel holds its local municipal elections and always gets to
experience its form of democracy play out.
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During nearly every two-year municipal election cycle, many frustrated residents
form their own minor parties while they jockey their ballot line with other major
parties to influence the outcome. Additionally, Bethel politics are known for some
of the nastiest name-calling, blame games, finger pointing and misinformation
trickery tactics in the area. As one political town committee member said, Bethel
Republicans eat their young, while referring to the party leadershipsresistance
to new ideas and new faces witnessed during previous years. However, since
2009 both major political parties have improved their openness to new members
and ideas.
Local Economy and Business
As of 2011 Bethel has an overall
labor force of 11,022 with 10,264
employed. The median home sales
price in 2009 was $344,250.
Located just 46 miles from the State
Capitol of Hartford, 56 miles from
New York City, and 140 miles from
Boston and sitting along the Metro-
North Railroad, Bethel is considered
by some, a prime location to settle-
down and focus on discovering and or continuing a great career. As can be seen
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in the chart on the previous page, Bethel has a fairly diverse local economy with
an eclectic selection of both industry and business.
Major players in the local economy are Duracell Inc., Target, Eaton Corporation
and the esteemed gem, Blue Jay Orchards, whose annual apple and pumpkin
seasons draws crowds from across the country.
Income (and wealth) Distribution
IncomeFromEarnings
SocialSecurity
RetirementIncome
Supplemental SecurityIncome
PublicAssistanceIncome
Food StampIncome
CT 80% 28.80% 17.70% 3.60% 3% 9.50%
Bethel 87.40% 23.40% 15% 0.90% 1.20% 5.70%
0%
20%40%60%
80%100%
AxisTitle
Bethel & CT Income Type Distribtuion
(2012)Source:
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productvie
w.xhtml?src=bkmk
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Housing
The Town of Bethel has limited sources of age restricted, public assistance
housing units. With only 80 units total,
40 of which are Section 8, and 40 are
age and income restricted, Bethel has
limited resources specific to low income
housing for those most in need. 100% of
the low-income age restricted units are
occupied by residents earning less than $10,000 individually. Of those, 100% are
between the ages of 46-93. While 80% of those are between the ages of 66-89.
73% are female and 26% male. (Housing Authority)
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
%o
fpopulation
Bethel CT Income Distribution (2012)Source:
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productvie
w.xhtml?src=bkmk
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Educational Facilities
Bethel has a centrally located educational campus, The David W. Deakin
Educational Park
provides five schools
from grades K-12 along
with multiple sports and
recreation fields and
areas. Education enrollment has dropped in the recent years. As of 2010-2011
Bethel had 2,938 enrolled students in grades K-12. Breakdown of education
specifics are detailed in the
following charts provided by
the 2010-2011 Bethel
Strategic School Profiles
report:
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Health and Welfare Systems
Bethel has a single employee Social
Services Department that coordinates
with community charities, volunteer
organizations, and churches to ensure
basic needs can be met for those most
in need. However, with only one
employee for the entire department it
can become frustrating for those
seeking assistance to attain access to
available services and aid.
Bethel has many local charities, food pantries and a consistently giving
community base. Organizations like Brotherhood-In-Action, the Lions Club,
Nights of Columbus, and many local churches and civic organizations provide
much needed support for local residents and neighboring communities.
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Social Control and Safety
Bethel is served by a full-time police force, two volunteer fire department and
boasts one of the regions successful
implementations of its paramedic
intercept system that has reduced
ambulance and paramedic response
times from fifteen minutes down to
five. Crime rate data is provided in the
charts below, complements of:http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ct/bethel/crime/#data
http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ct/bethel/crime/#datahttp://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ct/bethel/crime/#datahttp://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ct/bethel/crime/#datahttp://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ct/bethel/crime/#data8/12/2019 Assessment of Bethel CT 2014
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Sources of Information and Public Opinion
Thanks to the internet and digitization, Bethel residents can find help, answers,
and information on nearly all activities within the community via the links provided
below.
http://www.bethel-ct.gov- The official Town of Bethel website
with available links to most forms, documents, agendas, minutes
and municipal departments, boards and commissions.
http://www.bethel.k12.ct.us- The official website for the Bethel,
CT School District.
http://bethel.patch.com-A local online forum for local news,
blogs and information.
http://www.bethelbulletin.comA local online forum for local news,
blogs and information.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/59892217473/Bethel
residents hosts multiple Facebook group pages acting as voter
watchdog sites that also serve to provide broad information to
residents and voters.
http://www.bethel-ct.gov/http://www.bethel-ct.gov/http://www.bethel.k12.ct.us/http://www.bethel.k12.ct.us/http://bethel.patch.com/http://bethel.patch.com/http://www.bethelbulletin.com/http://www.bethelbulletin.com/https://www.facebook.com/groups/59892217473/https://www.facebook.com/groups/59892217473/https://www.facebook.com/groups/59892217473/http://www.bethelbulletin.com/http://bethel.patch.com/http://www.bethel.k12.ct.us/http://www.bethel-ct.gov/8/12/2019 Assessment of Bethel CT 2014
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Sources
2010 United States Census, Retrieved February 14th, 2014, from
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml
Chesley, G.M., (2011). Bethel Public Schools, Strategic School Profile 2010-2011,
Retrieved February 10th, 2014, fromwww.bethel.k12.ct.us
Town of Bethel, Economic Development Information PDF (2011). Retrieved February
9th, 2014, fromhttp://www.bethel-
ct.gov/filestorage/1190/136/8405/Bethel_Brochure_v2.pdf
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtmlhttp://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtmlhttp://www.bethel.k12.ct.us/http://www.bethel.k12.ct.us/http://www.bethel-ct.gov/filestorage/1190/136/8405/Bethel_Brochure_v2.pdfhttp://www.bethel-ct.gov/filestorage/1190/136/8405/Bethel_Brochure_v2.pdfhttp://www.bethel-ct.gov/filestorage/1190/136/8405/Bethel_Brochure_v2.pdfhttp://www.bethel-ct.gov/filestorage/1190/136/8405/Bethel_Brochure_v2.pdfhttp://www.bethel-ct.gov/filestorage/1190/136/8405/Bethel_Brochure_v2.pdfhttp://www.bethel-ct.gov/filestorage/1190/136/8405/Bethel_Brochure_v2.pdfhttp://www.bethel.k12.ct.us/http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml