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Drilling for dollars/Roan revenues could help higher ed without the need for a tax hike |
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Sunday, 15 July 2007 |
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Colorado Springs Gazette editorial The drumbeat is building for a big boost in funding for higher education in Colorado. But picking the taxpayers’ pockets needn’t be the first resort, and might not be required, if Coloradans are willing to make trade-offs. What kind of trade-offs? We’re glad you asked.
Regular readers by now know that a fight is raging over drilling on the Roan Plateau, a formerly obscure piece of Colorado geography that’s taken on mythical importance to antidrilling activists and politicians friendly to their cause, including Sen. Ken Salazar, Gov. Bill Ritter and others. Several weeks ago we weighed in on whether the BLM’s drilling plan for the Roan responsibly balances environmental and economic values — we think it does. But what’s largely been missing from the debate is the potential windfall drilling on the Roan will generate for this cash-strapped state, some of which could be diverted for the benefit of state colleges and universities, mitigating the need for further tax increases.
But those benefits won’t be realized if Ritter, Salazar and other politicians succeed in blocking or vastly scaling back drilling, in a pander to special interests. Sensible people not only concede the need for responsible energy development, in order to keep utility bills and gasoline pump prices in check, but they can see how the resulting revenues might benefit the state.
According to some estimates, the Roan leases will generate between $500 million to $1 billion, plus a 20-year to 30-year revenue stream of $100 million a year, in royalties and taxes. State Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, and Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, plan to offer legislation next year that would direct half that revenue into a permanent trust fund for higher ed. The other half would benefit drilling-impacted communities.
“Colorado’s colleges and universities are looking for a funding fix, and communities at the center of the energy boom need to prepare their financial houses for the moment drilling stops,” Penry has said. “The anticipated Roan royalty windfall could go a very long way in ensuring both.”
And the idea is catching on. It’s gotten good reviews from a number of papers in the state. University of Colorado President Hank Brown endorses it. And it’s creating a positive buzz inside the Statehouse.
The governor must choose. Does he care about more pandering to anti-drilling zealots, who’ve made a fetish of blocking energy extraction on the plateau, or about keeping energy prices reasonable and boosting funding for universities he says are underfunded? He’s already increased taxes $1.7 billion over 10 years for the benefit of primary schools. Why would he want to raise taxes again if he doesn’t have to?
Other supporters of more education spending also should get behind Penry’s plan, or identify some other revenue source, unless they think we live in a trade-off-free world — or just view the taxpayers as a herd of cows to be milked at will.
“Leadership is about making choices for the good of the state,” said Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany. “I realize the governor got out front in trying to stop drilling on the Roan, but he also has said it is critical to boost funding to higher ed. He’s got to decide what is more important. He also can’t just step aside and let all these blue-ribbon panels set the agenda for our state, whether on higher education or anything else. Here is a chance for him to get on board a viable alternative to another tax hike.”
BLM’s drilling plan for the Roan is among the most exhaustively studied and environmentally conscientious ever proposed. And if we can carefully tap the resources buried below, while mitigating the need to tap taxpayers dry, isn’t that the sensible thing to do? |
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Faces in the Crowd
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