Apparently the Village of Cobleskill has once again paid thousands of dollars for a consultant to tell them something they could have learned just by reading this blog. Over the past several months, a private consulting group has been studying ways to reform municipal boundaries to improve efficiency and better provide services. It turns out that the Village has a lot to gain by scrapping its village status and re-incorporating as a city.
The consulting group claims that the Village could gain nearly 2 million dollars in sales tax revenue if it became a city. As Deputy Mayor MacKay rightly stated, this could eliminate the need for property taxes in the Village. Many of the county’s retail businesses are located within the Village boundaries. This would entitle the Village or a future city to a much greater share of sales tax revenues.
Though the sales tax revenue gain is perhaps the biggest reason to consider re-incorporation, there are plenty of other reasons as well. Remember that whole issue with the Town double-billing Village taxpayers? If Cobleskill were a city, this would no longer be an issue. The Town would not get any of a City of Cobleskill’s tax revenues. Becoming a City would also give Cobleskill representation on the County Board of Supervisors. The Village is currently represented by the Town Supervisor. Now, this is okay until Town-Village relations go sour. With Town and Village leaders at each others throats, can the Town Supervisor be relied upon to fairly represent the interests of the Village at the county level? If Cobleskill were a city, it would get its own supervisor to sit on the County Board and serve as an advocate.
If Cobleskill were a City it could re-invest any revenue windfall in revitalizing Main Street. Plus, it would have more of an incentive to do this, as it would directly reap the benefits of any extra sales tax revenue.
This is something the Village of Cobleskill should begin work on immediately. We don’t need to talk endlessly or pay another consultant another $50,000. Whatever steps need to be taken, let’s take them. Petitions need to be filed? A referendum vote needs to be set up? I’m willing to invest some time in this effort, is anyone else?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
How Lowe’s Bought Cobleskill
Three years ago, a newly elected Village Board found itself in the position of having to deal with a plainly irresponsible deal entered into by the previous administration to sell Village water and sewer service to a proposed Lowe’s just past the Village line. After reconsidering the deal, the new Board, led by Mayor Sellers and Deputy Mayor MacKay voted to effectively turn off the tap before it was even hooked up. Citing concerns over fairness to Village taxpayers as well as the fiscal and economic health of the Village, the Board from then on maintained a policy of requiring annexation for a project to receive Village water and sewer services.Yet last month, the Village Board made a dramatic about-face on the issue and agreed to extend water and sewer lines out to the Town so Lowe’s could tap into them. Given the Village Board’s steadfast refusal to do exactly this over the past several years, one wonders, why the sudden change of heart?
Call me cynical, but I’m thinking the decision has something to do with Lowe’s offer to take the $200,000 it would have spent building an on-site water and sewer system and give it to the Town and Village instead. The Times-Journal essentially interpreted this move as a good will gesture (June 4 2008, “Cobleskill Finally Gets Water Deal”). I, however, interpret it as a pay-off.
According to the Times-Journal, Lowe’s developer Rob Jess made the announcement of his decision after the Town and Village came together and made this deal. However, Jess must have insinuated or just came and told Town and Village officials that they would get the 200K if Lowe’s got the water.
It’s interesting that Lowe’s chose to take the position that it did not need village water and sewer; though it obviously wanted it. Given the developer’s eagerness to obtain Village services, I have to believe that building their own water and sewer systems would have presented complications and potential costs far exceeding the $200,000 to be given to the Town and Village. Let’s not forget that with water and sewer hook-ups, the site becomes more valuable as it can be marketed to more potential businesses such as restaurants.
For three years the Village Board has maintained a wise policy of requiring annexation for projects interested in receiving Village services. This reversal makes a mockery of local government and democracy and indicts the character of all the local officials who signed on to the deal. This clearly demonstrates that our local community is for sale. What a disappointment.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Lowe Blow for Schoharie County’s Downtowns
At a time when gas prices are rising drastically, it is more important than ever that our community leaders take the steps necessary to plan for compact, sustainable communities where people can live, work and shop within reasonable distances. On the surface, it seems like a Lowe’s in Cobleskill will help cut down on fuel consumption by saving people from having to make trips to Oneonta or Amsterdam. However, the net effect of the Lowe’s development will be to drive local hardware retailers out of business while negatively impacting other locally-owned businesses as well, giving people less choices, especially ones that don’t involve driving.
Instead of abetting further sprawl development on its periphery, the Village of Cobleskill might better expend its energies seeking ways to revitalize the residential apartments on its Main Street. But it seems like the Village Board doesn’t even have the temerity to insist on annual apartment inspections for fear of angering slumlords. Despite this, there are things happening in Schoharie County’s downtowns. In Cobleskill, SUNY has decided to open a branch of its bookstore on Main Street. Plus, the Village just spent over $30,000 for a study on how to revitalize Downtown. I don’t think that that study calls for helping the Town build another big box development outside of the Village!
More needs to be done! Why hasn’t the Village government taken steps to move its offices back downtown? This is a very simple step and it should have been taken years ago. The next step: a facelift for downtown. Storefront facades could use some paint and new designs and there’s plenty of grant money available to do it. Main Street’s sidewalks need to be replaced; how about some simple brick inlays and traffic calming devices? These are all very simple steps that would go along way to setting the tone for a revitalization of Downtown Cobleskill. I fear that if the current administration won’t move on this, then no one will.
Instead, this current administration slaps in the face the Village taxpayers who receive water and sewer service as part of the “whole package” of Village services. They don’t get to cherry pick which services they will pay for and which ones they won’t. Instead this current administration chooses to subsidize development in other municipalities essentially agreeing to a parasitic relationship where Town sprawl latches on to the Village infrastructure and essentially sucks all the life out. Developable land in the Town, that now has access to Village water & sewer becomes more valuable than Village land. Developers get the services without the taxes! As more and more commercial developments pop up in the Town, Town taxes will go down, thanks to the Village’s generosity. Meanwhile, the Village will foot the bill, as not only will it be providing water and sewer services but police protection as well.
As an ex officio member of the County Board of Supervisors, Cobleskill Town Supervisor Roger Cohn knows that a Lowe’s development will bring in sales tax revenue for the county to divvy up. Meanwhile, water and sewer lines get extended outward toward the next big project. So local growth supporters, i.e. county officials, developers, the chamberpot of commerce, and the Times-Journal all have been attacking the Village Board for the past three years for “holding up progress” in order to shove this deal down Village taxpayers’ throats once again. Instead, this current administration finally backed down and endorsed this distorted notion of ‘progress’. A Lowe blow indeed.
Instead of abetting further sprawl development on its periphery, the Village of Cobleskill might better expend its energies seeking ways to revitalize the residential apartments on its Main Street. But it seems like the Village Board doesn’t even have the temerity to insist on annual apartment inspections for fear of angering slumlords. Despite this, there are things happening in Schoharie County’s downtowns. In Cobleskill, SUNY has decided to open a branch of its bookstore on Main Street. Plus, the Village just spent over $30,000 for a study on how to revitalize Downtown. I don’t think that that study calls for helping the Town build another big box development outside of the Village!
More needs to be done! Why hasn’t the Village government taken steps to move its offices back downtown? This is a very simple step and it should have been taken years ago. The next step: a facelift for downtown. Storefront facades could use some paint and new designs and there’s plenty of grant money available to do it. Main Street’s sidewalks need to be replaced; how about some simple brick inlays and traffic calming devices? These are all very simple steps that would go along way to setting the tone for a revitalization of Downtown Cobleskill. I fear that if the current administration won’t move on this, then no one will.
Instead, this current administration slaps in the face the Village taxpayers who receive water and sewer service as part of the “whole package” of Village services. They don’t get to cherry pick which services they will pay for and which ones they won’t. Instead this current administration chooses to subsidize development in other municipalities essentially agreeing to a parasitic relationship where Town sprawl latches on to the Village infrastructure and essentially sucks all the life out. Developable land in the Town, that now has access to Village water & sewer becomes more valuable than Village land. Developers get the services without the taxes! As more and more commercial developments pop up in the Town, Town taxes will go down, thanks to the Village’s generosity. Meanwhile, the Village will foot the bill, as not only will it be providing water and sewer services but police protection as well.
As an ex officio member of the County Board of Supervisors, Cobleskill Town Supervisor Roger Cohn knows that a Lowe’s development will bring in sales tax revenue for the county to divvy up. Meanwhile, water and sewer lines get extended outward toward the next big project. So local growth supporters, i.e. county officials, developers, the chamberpot of commerce, and the Times-Journal all have been attacking the Village Board for the past three years for “holding up progress” in order to shove this deal down Village taxpayers’ throats once again. Instead, this current administration finally backed down and endorsed this distorted notion of ‘progress’. A Lowe blow indeed.
McMansion Owners Complain About Taxes
As Schoharie County slowly morphs from a rural county to a distant exurb of the Capital Region, economic, political and social changes promise to divide the community in many ways. The ongoing property tax debacle in the Town of Richmondville is an example. While the Town certainly has its share of legitimate grievances when it comes to assessments (most Towns do), it is a small minority of McMansion owners who seem to be making most of the noise.The majority of Richmondville’s residents live in small site-built or manufactured housing along the Route 7 corridor or clustered in the hollows of the surrounding hills. However, where there are good views to be had, we’ve begun to see an influx of large expensive houses popping up.
Two extremely vociferous critics of Richmondville’s assessments are Horst Fierek and Robert Peck. I’m not going to publish any specific information about them personally, although I invite readers to look for themselves on Schoharie County’s website. These individuals’ properties are each assessed at around half a million dollars. Sure, that seems like a lot, until one looks at the homes these people live in: they’re monster houses! In fact, most of these high-assessment properties consist of extravagantly large homes on large parcels with sweeping hillside vistas.
So what do these people expect? Not only do properties with good views fetch higher market prices, but they usually require greater levels of road maintenance by the Town being that they’re built all the way up on top of a mountain. More road means more materials, more fuel for municipal vehicles, more culvert pipes, more repairs after Spring floods, and of course more road to plow during the winter. This way, the homeowners’ benefits of building a home with a good view are balanced out to account for the local government’s added costs of providing services to that property.
Also consider the fact that increased development on hillsides poses significant public safety dangers to residents; just look at the hillside collapsing underneath Horst Fierek’s sprawling mansion off Route 10. Obviously, I’m not saying there’s a one-to-one connection in the case of Route 10 but development obviously puts pressure on the land: streams get diverted, large amounts of soil and clay are displaced, and private water and sewer facilities take their toll as well.
Meanwhile, rural towns often lack the resources to keep up with the services required by increased growth. In few places is this more true than in Richmondville. Here’s a Town with a municipal garage that’s literally falling into a ravine, being held up with chains! The Town office is a shack! Meanwhile, exurban homeowners don’t understand why they’re being forced to bear the brunt of costs for increased services, which their presence creates the need for in the first place!
Personally, I have no sympathy for people who build giant McMansions and then have to pay high taxes. Why should people who live within their means by not building large garish houses have to subsidize a handful of snobs looking down their noses on the rest of us?
If the Horst Fierek’s and Robert Peck’s of Richmondville get their way and thus shift the costs of their services to the already strapped poor of the Town, it would be nothing short of a travesty. There’s more of us than there are of them. While I would like to see Richmondville’s assessment problems evened out, I certainly don’t want to let a few snobs use the issue to weasel out of paying their fair share of taxes.
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