Village of Middleburgh Adopts Budget, Organizes for Fiscal Year

Organizing for the coming fiscal year, members of the Village of Middleburgh Board of Trustees voted to adopt the municipality's proposed approximately $800,000 2015-16 budget that is set to raise taxes by a single percent, or five dollars per house.

Informing Trustees that the proposal was "significantly under the tax cap," Mayor Matthew Avitabile said that expenditures had increased because the village is putting aside money for a matching grant fund and towards the purchase of a new firetruck.

Additionally, a two percent wage increase was approved for all village employees, except for members of the village board. Addressing the tax increase, Avitabile stated that the village had kept "everything at 1% total over the last four years."

Relative to the rate of tax increases under former Mayor William Ansel-McCabe, who was unseated by then Village Trustee Avitabile in March 2012, village taxpayers have saved almost two hundred dollars each since then.

Further organizing the municipality for the 2015-16 fiscal year, village board members voted to name Shawn Smith as new Village Attorney; Trustee Bill Morton as Commissioner of Parks; and Trustee Bob Tinker as Commissioner of the Cemetery.

The village also named the Times Journal and The Schoharie News as the municipality's official newspapers.

In other business, village board members:

Heard from Middleburgh Area Business Association representatives Linda Quinn and Bob Stevenot that the Schoharie County Chamber of Commerce is offering a matching program for businesses and municipalities interested in producing television commercials for the coming tourism year.
Heard from Middleburgh Village Highway Superintendent Dale Nunamann that highway crews will begin picking up leaves on Monday, April 13th through November on Friday's, and that clean up of the Village Cemetery will start on Wednesday, April 22nd and last three-four days.
Voted to approve several Heritage Trail projects funded by a New York State Council for the Arts grant totaling $15,200. Among the approved projects is the placement of several historical plaques, expansion of the Timothy Murphy Park, and $2,500 for the Dr. Best House and local Library.
Voted to approve the expenditure of $400 toward the creation of an advertisement promoting village businesses and events as part of the Chamber of Commerce's matching program.