Margaretville Organizes For 2025-2026 Fiscal Year Water Cemetery Rate Increases

MARGARETVILLE - Margaretville Board of Trustees organized for the 2025-2026 fiscal year on April 8.

The following appointments and designations were made:

• Noreen LaBonte as town clerk and registrar of vital statistics. Antonea Bongo will continue as LaBonte's deputy.

• Beth Bush as Treasurer

• John Paul Beers was reappointed as the Department of Public Works supervisor.

• Official newspaper The Mountain Eagle, known locally as The Catskills Chronicle.

• Official depositories include NBT, Delaware National Bank of Delhi, and NYClass.

• Verna Dietrich as dog control officer

• Village Attorney Robert McKentrich

• Johnathan Siebert was appointed as planning board member and Kent Brown was re-appointed. Both will serve five-year terms.

• Trustee David Budin was appointed deputy mayor.

• Trustees extended the contract to jointly hire Hiram Davis as a code enforcement officer with Middletown.

Rate Increases

Trustees approved water rates with some increases in fees. The minimum water rate per quarter was increased to $50 from $40. The price for overages per 100 gallons over the 5,000 quarterly limit has increased from $5 to $10. All other rates remained the same.

Cemetery fees were approved with increases to grave opening costs. Weekday openings during winter months increased from $600 to $700. Weekend and holiday opening requests increased from $750 to $850.  

Meeting Dates & Budget

The regular meetings will continue to be scheduled on the third Tuesday of the month except the May 8th meeting.

The next regular Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled Tuesday, April 15 at 5 p.m. Trustees are expected to adopt the 2025-2026 budget with a 2.19% or $9,324 increase. The budget includes a 3% salary increase for employees. A major increase was due to rising utility costs, said Hubbell. A public hearing was held before the organizational meeting.