Stories Related to How Much Impact Does Oil And Gas Tax Revenue Have On The Colorado Springs Area?

BY RYAN MAYE HANDY ryanmaye.handy@gazette.com -Every year, El Paso County gets a couple of hundred thousand in tax dollars from oil and gas and mineral extraction - which might seem odd, since the county has very little of either. But thanks to annual state severance tax and federal mineral leases, slivers of municipal budgets all over El Paso County come from energy operators, few though they may be in an area with a smattering of oil wells and no active coal mining permits. In 2014, El Paso County got $104,103.49 in severance taxes, which was distributed to nine local governments for the 2015 fiscal year, according to records released Monday by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.