With Mayor Mike Sellers wielding the microphone like a talk show host, close to 100 people showed up for a chance to talk about a different Cobleskill last Tuesday.
At issue was the Center for Governmental Research’s grant-funded study on sharing or consolidating village and town services.
A final report is expected in the spring; until then, CGR is adding up data and gathering opinions on the best way to provide needed services, explained director Charles Zettek Jr.
“Our study is not going to say what you should be doing,” Mr. Zettek told the crowd at the fire house.
“Basically, everything is on the table. It’ll be up to you to decide what your government will look like.”
Mr. Zettek said CGR is looking at everything from sharing or consolidating services “all the way to dissolving the village,” an unlikely step, but one that has its backers.
Since August, CGR with help from a five-member Oversight Committee of Mayor Sellers, John O’Donnell, Supervisor Mike Montario, Ken Hotopp, and Ruth Bradt, has been looking at: administration, courts, the Highway, Police, and Fire Departments, Parks & Recreation, land use and zoning boards, and water and sewer services.
In the end, Mr. Zettek said, CGR will only offer suggestions—it won’t make recommendations—something that makes public involvement so important, he said.
With Mayor Sellers passing the wireless mic, Mr. Zettek took questions from the crowd; no, CGR won’t be considering quality of life issues, he said, but yes, it’s developing a list of staff and salaries for all departments.
Cobleskill resident Bob Devanney said he sees a lot of duplication in services, and Mr. O’Donnell, who’s also a downtown businessman, asked CGR to look to alternative ways of dividing county sales tax revenues.
“Cobleskill is the retail center. How are we being treated when compared to other municipalities?” he asked. “Are we giving up more than we should?”
Scott Barton asked about the possibility of Cobleskill becoming a city—something Mr. Zettek said CGR isn’t looking at in-depth “but it is an option to consider,” he said.
In nearby Cooperstown, a three-member committee is exploring just that; Wellsville, in the western part of the state, has also been looking into becoming a city for about a year, Mr. Zettek said.
“Let them be on the cutting edge.”
Trustee Mark Galasso, who campaigned on dissolving the village, pointed out fewer boards—zoning, planning, parks and the like—would reduce the demands on volunteers.
CGR data shows about twice as many Cobleskill residents living in the village as in the rest of the town, and overall combined population figures dropping steadily from 7,290 in 1990 to 6,548 in 2006.
Those figures don’t include SUNY Cobleskill’s population of about 2,600 students; Ted Brinkman, a former village trustee, argued they should.
“They are allowed to vote and they can influence our budgets and everything else,” he argued.
CGR didn’t set a date for another Q&A session but is asking for additional thoughts on shared services by January 11.
Comments can be mailed or emailed to Scott Sittig, CGR, 1 South Washington Street, Suite 400, Rochester, NY 14614-1135, ssittig@cgr.org. Mr. Sitig can also be reached by phone at (585) 327-7082.