Cobleskill to formally study city-status

7/21/2022

By Jim Poole

Cobleskill village officials will seek a formal study about turning the town and village into a city.
Mayor Becky Terk and trustees made the move Tuesday night, with Mayor Terk saying she’ll make a request for proposals from private firms.
It was last month that Mayor Terk proposed merging the town and village into a city to lessen the tax burden on residents.
A city would likely get a larger share of the county’s sales tax revenue, which Cobleskill deserves for the services it provides as Schoharie County’s commercial center, Mayor Terk said in June.
She emphasized that point Tuesday night.
“We’re already seen as a small city,” Mayor Terk said, though without the revenue benefits.
She cited a 2008 study that investigated combining the town and village, sharing services and possible making Cobleskill a city.
The study noted the town and village “have a shared history,” a city would have “a more effective and efficient government” and would be “a model for other communities,” Mayor Terk said.
The newer study would examine questions such as police, water and sewer, zoning, the effect on Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School and other issues.
“It would build on the 2008 study,” Mayor Terk said.