Taking another look at economic development–including tourism–and the possibility of bringing it back in-house tops supervisors’ list of goals for 2023.
Also on the list chair Bill Federice laid out Friday:
• Improving security in all of the Schoharie County Office Buildings.
• Addressing the costs of homelessness.
• Exploring a merger between the Cobleskill Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office.
These aren’t just his goals, Mr. Federice said, but a list he put together with input from other supervisors and community members.
The list builds on previous goals, he said (see related stories on page 3); without them, “it’s like a ship at sea without a compass or GPS.”
The four goals are all of equal weight, Mr. Federice said–though some might take more time to chip away at than others–and he named special committees to look at them and report back monthly.
There’s also a handful of smaller goals–including taking a look at weighted voting–that will be assigned to existing committees.
“A lot of us consider ourselves fiscal conservatives,” Mr. Federice told supervisors, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a need to invest in these goals, all of which he called “good candidates” for money from the excess fund balance.
The goals:

Economic Development/Tourism
The need for more focused efforts on economic development drew the most input from supervisors and community members, Mr. Federice said, many of whom want the job, eliminated several years ago--“a big mistake, in my opinion”–brought back in-house as “the go-to person for the county on all things related to economic development without a political agenda.”
Hand-in-hand with that is tourism, he said.
“All economic development starts with tourism–which means getting people to visit and letting them see what we have to offer.”
With that in mind, it’s a good time to take a fresh look at the county’s relationship with Destination Marketing “not as a means of finding fault or ending [it,]” he said, but looking at where the county invests its O-Tax dollars.

County Buildings Security
Several supervisors feel the county’s buildings need to have better security, Mr. Federice said, suggesting they look to Delaware County, where there’s a single point of entry with a uniformed employee, as a low-tech model.
In too many cases, he said, visitors have too easy access to offices-including his own, where more than once “an emotional non-employee” has walked right in “with no screening whatsoever.”
It’s likely a goal that will require spending money, Mr. Federice said, but “I cannot think of a better way to invest some of our excess fund balance…”

Homelessness
Most people don’t realize how big and pervasive Schoharie County’s homelessness problem is, Mr. Federice said–or how expensive.
“I don’t know too many people who want to be homeless. We need to look at our options to drive down the cost…just as importantly, we need to work to get our homeless back on track.”
The question of whether or not the former Public Safety Building can affordably be used for homelessness services needs to be answered once and for all, he said–because supervisors are looking at marketing the building if it’s not.
Mr. Federice said they also need to know how many people are homeless–by definition or reality–and how much the county is spending on everything from motels to transportation so they can make informed decisions.
“We need to look at options to drive down the cost,” he said.
It’s a goal that’s likely to take a lot of time to come up with answers for, he said, which makes it all the more urgent.

Law Enforcement Merger
It’s time–again–to take an in-depth look at a merger between the Cobleskill PD and the Sheriff’s Office over more than just coffee, Mr. Federice said.
Among the issues to look at: coverage, integration of salary scales, health insurance benefits, union representation, department policies, “and certainly the financial impact.”
“This will be a big effort, but several of us believe we owe it to our constituents.”

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