THE NEW NEWTOWN PASSPORT OFFICE CLOSED BY THE TOWN

 

Less than two weeks after opening a passport office in the Municipal Building, the office is closed by the town.

Deciding to open the office here in Newtown was the brainchild of retired Probate Judge, Daniel O’Grady of Bethel, the official passport agent for that town.  Prior to the closing of the Newtown Probate Court, residents could apply for passports at the Newtown Court’s location in Edmond Town Hall. The Bethel passport  office services that town and the greater Danbury area.

Without a passport office in Newtown, residents must go to the post office on Commerce Road or apply online.  This leaves consumers without the personal assistance often necessary to fill out and obtain the documents that must accompany the application for a US passport book or passport card.  

According the First Selectman Pat Llodra, opening what amounted to a private business in the municipal building was an inappropriate use of a public space.  Charging a fee of $25, a fairly standard fee for passport application assistance, shifted the office from a public service to a private enterprise, outside the proscribed guidelines for the municipal building, according to Llodra.

To apply for a passport online with a copy of the  application that can be downloaded go to the government travel office at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/79955.pdf.

 For more detailed explanation of the process visit https://pptform.state.gov/

There are also several privately-owned, online companies offering assistance for a fee that can be found at a http://www.uspassport123.com and http://www.expresspassport.com/