Cobleskill seeks to gain city status
Aug. 19—The village of Cobleskill is interested in becoming a city.
"It's more than just the consolidation of Cobleskill," Cobleskill mayor, Rebecca Stanton-Terk said during an Aug. 19 interview. "The consolidation is not the goal here and it would only happen if we were to pursue and gain city status. Ultimately, we want a preempt of city sales tax revenue for Cobleskill."
Stanton-Terk recently sent a proposal to the village Board of Trustees for a city survey to determine the positive and negative effects of consolidating, including the effects on the incoming college students and the tax benefits.
"We are waiting for the information to come back with the bids because we can't really come up with a plan unless we assess what the city can work with first. We also don't know how much this survey is going to cost, so it's a lot of waiting," she said.
Cobleskill is also faced with the fact that it is considered the commercial hub of Schoharie county and its infrastructure is burdened with traffic due to it's economic significance, according to Stanton-Terk.
"Economy is the status quo," she said. Schoharie county totaled $19,466,527.89 in sales tax revenue for 2021 and less than five percent of that revenue is shared. Out of the less than five percent distributed, Cobleskill only receives $128,604.71.
"55% of Cobleskill is tax exempt, which doesn't give us a lot of income to work with and focus on infrastructure," she said.
Obtaining city status would allow Cobleskill to have more influence in collecting and using the sales tax generated within its borders, according to a study of shared service opportunities for the village and town of Cobleskill.
According to a 2002 economic census and information provided in the study of shared service opportunities, "More than 70% of the county's retail sales occur within the confines of the Village, but the Village of Cobleskill does not currently reap any substantial sales tax benefit as a result of its role as an economic engine."
Village costs are also high and without finding alternative sources of revenue, the community is not likely to sustain the level of service that will encourage future growth and development, the study said.
"One of the big things is making sure I have all the information I need for this proposal, which is a big reason why we are waiting on the survey. State legislature hasn't ran a city legislative proposal in a while so it's important that I have all the information I need before going through with the consolidation," Stanton-Terk said.
According to Wikipedia, the last city to be incorporated in New York state was the city of Rye, in 1942. Schoharie County currently has no cities within its borders.
Stanton-Terk also wants to make sure that all issues are covered with the consolidation process and she wants to make sure that she knows how everyone is affected by the process, she said.
"I'm cautiously optimistic about it, and I just know that we really need an updated study and survey before moving through with it," she said.
Alexis Ochi, staff writer, can be reached at aochi@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7213.
