News
Assessor Wyatt counters claim regarding proposed House Bill amendment
Prowers County Assessor, Andy Wyatt, got an unpleasant surprise on Thursday, March 30, when he read the Pueblo Chieftain story headlined, "Lawmaker challenges wind farm legislation." According to the story, an amendment tacked onto House Bill 1275, "at the behest of Prowers County Assessor Andy Wyatt" would potentially make the bill unconstitutional.
April 4, 2006
by Mary Breslin
in Lamar Daily News
In a telephone interview with Wyatt, he stated that "Nothing could be further from the truth." County Commissioner, Gene Millbrand, agreed, stating that "Andy and I have repeatedly brought up concerns about the constitutionality of the proposed amendments."
Wyatt has been a proponent of the income approach to taxation for the industry because it would better enable industry and government to manage their budgets.
According to both Wyatt and Millbrand, to their knowledge, no one in state government contacted local government officials while the bill was being drafted and introduced. In fact, according to Wyatt, Greg Brophy (State Senator) indicated that he had been "just too busy to get back to us," when attempts were made to contact him regarding the bill.
According to Wyatt, he did receive a phone call from Representative Wes McKinley offering an apology, and stating that he thought local leaders had been in the loop regarding the bill. During the phone call, Wyatt explained that under the current bill, the fiscal impact to the county, hospital district and State General Fund (K-12) would be devastating.
In a statement released to the , Wyatt said, "There needs to be a collaborative effort to value the renewable energy industry in a fair and constitutional manner. In order to do that, there has to be dialog. A conversion factor using B.T.U.s can be developed that will work for all renewable energy. It would put renewable energy and the oil and gas industry on the same plane. This will take time to develop and should be considered. However, little or no consideration has taken place concerning the future of the eastern plains of this great state."
Wyatt has been a proponent of the income approach to taxation for the industry because it would better enable industry and government to manage their budgets.
According to both Wyatt and Millbrand, to their knowledge, no one in state government contacted local government officials while the bill was being drafted and introduced. In fact, according to Wyatt, Greg Brophy (State Senator) indicated that he had been "just too busy to get back to us," when attempts were made to contact him regarding the bill.
According to Wyatt, he did receive a phone call from Representative Wes McKinley offering an apology, and stating that he thought local leaders had been in the loop regarding the bill. During the phone call, Wyatt explained that under the current bill, the fiscal impact to the county, hospital district and State General Fund (K-12) would be devastating.
In a statement released to the , Wyatt said, "There needs to be a collaborative effort to value the renewable energy industry in a fair and constitutional manner. In order to do that, there has to be dialog. A conversion factor using B.T.U.s can be developed that will work for all renewable energy. It would put renewable energy and the oil and gas industry on the same plane. This will take time to develop and should be considered. However, little or no consideration has taken place concerning the future of the eastern plains of this great state."
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