During their Feb. 22 meeting, the Bethel City Council voted to adopt a new COVID-19 mask recommendation. It also allocated more funds to the police department. And lastly, Bethel City Council voted to give the Bethel City Manager a raise.
The mask recommendation took effect immediately. The recommendation goes into effect during periods of high COVID-19 transmission, like Bethel is currently experiencing.
The mask recommendation passed 5-2, with council members Mary “Beth” Hessler and Perry Barr voting against it. The recommendation replaces an earlier city-wide mask mandate, which the council voted to let expire during its last meeting. The mandate expired on Feb. 18.
The council also allocated $30,000 to the Bethel Police Department to cover extra overtime shifts through June 2022. That measure passed unanimously.
In a final unanimous move, the council voted to give city manager Pete Williams a 3% raise after his annual review. That’s the highest raise possible. City employees have the option to let the public listen to their performance review. Williams chose instead that his review be conducted in a private session. Councilmember Perry Barr had a concluding thought about Williams’ performance.
“Thanks to you, during this COVID situation, you’ve held things together. And it’s great to have a homeboy like you shine and do great and wonderful things in the eye of adversity,” said Barr.
An earlier version of this story said only council member Hessler voted against the mask recommendation. That is incorrect. Council member Perry Barr also voted against the measure.
