WHEN:   Thursday March 22, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

WHERE:  Borg Warner Room, Tompkins County Library

How much in property tax will be coming to local governments from gas drilling and when? Will drilling lower or raise my taxes? What is the process of taxing this resource? What’s a severance tax and why should New York create one?

Join County Legislator Carol Chock and Caroline Supervisor Don Barber as they negotiate these questions and a maze of other taxation considerations surrounding gas drilling.

This talk will focus on the amount of potential funding municipalities might expect should drilling come to town. Counties, cities, towns, and villages can expect increased costs should an uptick in drilling activity occur in the area. Whether it be fixing roads, adding police officers, monitoring air and water, or adding administrative staff, municipalities are concerned about being left empty-handed.

The Assessment and Land Valuation Subcommittee of the Tompkins County Council of Governments Gas Drilling Task Force has been studying these and other economic issues. They will outline some of the potential concerns with the current system of taxation. Questions such as how gas is measured, who verifies the measurements, lag times between drilling and receipt of taxes, why anyone should care about a Unit of Production Value, and what is an ad valorum tax will be explained. A demonstration of the Town Tax Calculator will help estimate expected tax incomes.

While municipal officials are the target audience, all are welcome to come to the Borg Warner room at the Tompkins County Library on Thursday, March 22 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.