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<br />...\ '
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<br />
<br />pl'r~onal well being. And the~e people promott'> the
<br />anli-~rowth syndrome."
<br />
<br />One Common view: an economic problem
<br />Bul apparently Iht> oldtimers and newcomers do
<br />share some viI"...... about the oil-shale industry. Accord-
<br />ing to Pdt Halligan, executiH" director 01 the Colorado
<br />West Area Council oi Governments, a four-("ountv
<br />planning organization. "It j.. the economic problem
<br />that is oi moslloncern 10 people."
<br />A.. oil-<;hale development swell.. the region's popula-
<br />lion, local counlit's and lowns are going to need more
<br />oi everything. irom more schools to more <,e\H'(5. An
<br />Impact Analv<;j<;. prepared bv THK AS"OL, Inc., DRI and
<br />BickE'rl, Browne and Couington indicates that (0<;' 01
<br />..ervices and fa('ililies needed for each additional 1.000
<br />people will run inlO several million dollars. According
<br />to the anal~'sis, tax revenue'" will partially offset these
<br />co,>ts, but the problem i",: will th€' tax base be ready
<br />vvhen the "prvice.. art' nt'eded?
<br />According to some industry sources, the oil-shale
<br />population will build up slowly enough to let the taxes
<br />catch up. For examplt'. Piorzheimer oi Paraho believes
<br />that the plants will comp one at a time. not.J1I at ante,
<br />And "Each plant," ht. savs, "will provide a sizable ta...
<br />ba"'l' for the community, which will then help the area
<br />prppare ior the next plant and its incoming workers."
<br />With the industry, and its associated population, build-
<br />ing in stagt's, he explains, the tax lag should nol
<br />present major problem...
<br />But man\' other industrv sources and outside or-
<br />ganizations do not share this view. Some knowledg€'-
<br />able <jaunt''' sav the taxes \\ ill probably lag J to 6 vears
<br />behind the time when the services and lacilitie... are
<br />needed. And Gilmore oi DRI savs: "It.s going 10 be a
<br />problem to get the mon{'v tor the counlie'" when thcv
<br />need it \\ithout greallv incrN...ing the tax load on Ihe
<br />people already there."
<br />If the oil-shalL' workers selllt' in a different district
<br />irom the oil-shale plant. the region could iace another
<br />kind of tax problt'm. In thi" caw. the large tax re,enue..
<br />trom the plant \\ould not bt' .l\ailablt' for the ...er,ice...
<br />needed \\here if'> workers lived. The potential solu-
<br />tions jor this problem, which, of courst', is not unique
<br />10 the oil-shale region, can be simple matters ot
<br />toresight and/or legi"lation. For t'xampte, with an t'\e
<br />to avoiding the district problem, Colonv dt'cided to
<br />run the access route 10 its plant through th€' same
<br />district as lht' plant, thus providing a strong in(enli\p
<br />for its emplovt'es to live in that district.
<br />The problem oi tax lag i... much mor€' difficult to sohe
<br />
<br />22 E...rCU11\E \\{~1 RE....,H...I...II.. tDlll0'" fl'b<u..., 19~~
<br />
<br />and most proposed solutions involve the federal gov-
<br />ernment. Many Colorado residents and public officials.
<br />feel Washington should provide grants to help im.
<br />pacted cauntie", hurdle Ihe tax lag, and sevt'ral state
<br />and tederal studies and hearings on the problem are
<br />now under.....av. Gigoux ot Club::!O echoes a common
<br />..entiment in the stale when he says: "If our resources
<br />are used to solve the nation's energy problem, then
<br />the nation should help pay the cost",,"
<br />Some ob...er\€'fs point out that the industry itselt
<br />could help the counties bridge the lax lag with prepay-
<br />ment oi taxes. The idea sugge"'ted is that industry
<br />could pay its ta1ll'S in advance, at a time when the
<br />counties net~d Ihe monev ior services, and then later
<br />taxes would be reduced 10 pav the companies back for
<br />the amount Ihe\" advanced. Uniortunately, there is one
<br />hangup to this idea-the slate tax laws do not allow it.
<br />But the Colorado Slate legislature is planning to stud~'
<br />this proposal. And ....'cSparran 01 Colonv says: "Cer-
<br />tainlv if a companv is willing to prepav taxes, it should
<br />have the opportunitv to do il."
<br />One tax idea that the legislature is almost certain to
<br />consider is that of a severance tax. Oil shalers, as might
<br />b€' expect€'d, strongly oppo!ie this ta' idea. First. thev
<br />say, the ad valorem ta...es from the oil-shale plants will
<br />be sufficient to pay for nt'eded services over the long
<br />term. And, they add, there is alreadv a provision under
<br />state ta, laws 10 ta\ the oil-",hale mines based on
<br />production. Bul some oil-shale obsef\'t'fs believe that a
<br />severance lax is nect'ssarv 10 insur€' that th€' industr}
<br />pavs its iair share to the stale and the idea is almost
<br />cNtain to be brought up in the legislature.
<br />
<br />Unlocking the shales. . .
<br />a whole new economy
<br />As oil-shale d(>velopment mO\es ahead in Colorado,
<br />it will una\'oidabl} change the whole economy of the
<br />oil-shale counties. The question oi whether or notlhe
<br />prf;'"ent econom\' of th€' region is diversified can be-
<br />and is-dpbated at length. But in the iace at a full.scale
<br />shale industf\, the question i", rt'all\' a moot one, for all
<br />sources agree that tht' nt"t decade will usher in a new
<br />(;'wnomv ior the region, based main Iv on oil shale. But
<br />some questions remain.
<br />As tht' oil shalers move in, \\ill the\' drive Ihe
<br />ranchers ouH That question is "'ure 10 raise voice le\els
<br />in th€' oil-shal€' region and in the state. Agriculture in
<br />Colorado i~ a more than Sl-billion-per-vear industr\,
<br />and th€' three-counh shalp area toda\' is heavilv a~ri-
<br />cultural. Some ob~en.'ers poinl out Ihat oil shal€' \\ill
<br />provide the fut'1 necessaf\ to keep agriculture running,
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