Cherry to Seek New Term as Treasurer

County Treasurer William Cherry has announced that he will seek another term in office. Writing to taxpayers, the Treasurer wrote that there was still much work to be done that he believes will be accomplished over the next four years.

Cherry cites the fact that Schoharie County was one of the few debt-free counties in the state before the flood. His changes to the budget process allowed for a much smaller than average debt load and built up a reserve that allowed the County to pay for flood damage and emergency actions.

Listing challenges ahead, Cherry cites the need for FEMA funding for a new jail and communications center. He also writes about the need for local jobs, including the recent agreement to sell Guilford Mills and place several hundred jobs at the facility.

Cherry writes, "My unblemished 20-year record of protecting and safeguarding the taxpayer
dollars that are placed in my care is perhaps my proudest accomplishment."

The Treasurer's position is up for election in November. There are no other declared candidates as of yet.

Treasurer's Office Announces Annual Property Auction to be Held May 17

Schoharie County Treasurer William Cherry has announced that he will conduct the county’s annual public auction of tax-foreclosed properties on Saturday, May 17th.  The auction will be held on the front steps of the County Courthouse in the Village of Schoharie, and bidding will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. on that day.  Copies of the auction catalog with full color photographs and tax maps are available at no charge from the County Treasurer’s Office on the first floor of the County Office Building, or the catalog is available online at: SchoharieCounty-NY.gov.  Bidder registration will open up at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the sale, although interested buyers can pre-register during regular office hours at the Treasurer’s Office in order to save time on May 17th.  Terms of sale describing the auction process are included in the catalog.

48 tax-foreclosed properties will be sold to the highest bidders, and all delinquent taxes, liens, mortgages, and prior judgments have been wiped out so that the successful bidders will be purchasing these properties free and clear.  These are now County-owned surplus parcels and there is no longer any opportunity for the prior owners to make a claim against the property.  There is no buyer’s premium, and there are no minimum bids. 

The catalog of properties includes single family homes as well as abandoned farmland along with vacant land ranging from several one acre lots to a large 74.5 acre wooded parcel.  There are also some commercial buildings included with lots of potential, and several older mobile homes on their own nice homesites.  Some of the auction parcels have beautiful, panoramic mountain views, and two of the parcels are adjacent to State lands which make them especially attractive to hunters.

For more information, please contact the County Treasurer’s Office at (518) 295-8386.  Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.