Endorsed by the Mayors of Carbondale,
Glenwood Springs, New Castle,
Silt, Rifle and Parachute

 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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Hurst hasn't collected on money owed

Dear Editor,
I urge all taxpayers to vote for John Gorman for Garfield County Assessor because he has insisted that he will ensure that oil and gas companies pay all taxes due. In my lawsuit against Williams Production, the court found that Williams misrepresented the actual price received for gas produced, and therefore underpaid royalties. The court ordered Williams to correct this undervaluation and pay all royalty owners. Many royalty owners received checks, including interest. The assessor is aware of this court decision.
Based upon the checks paid to all the royalty owners for the six years involved, nearly $117,000,000 of income was unreported. Using a 4 percent mill levy rate and an average of 3 percent paid to federal royalties, and 87.5 percent assessment rate, results in about $4,000,000 of underpaid taxes for the six-year period. ($117,000,000 x 97% x 87.5% x 4%). The average amount that should be due to the county for just this one issue is about $600,000 per year.
Unfortunately, our sitting assessor has refused to ask Williams to pay this amount owed. She has billed Williams approximately $60,000 in back taxes due, but she has ignored the fact that the court ordered Williams to pay back income that results in $4,000,000 of back taxes.
The sitting Garfield County Assessor has failed or refused to bill Williams even a small percentage of the taxes due.
I believe that John Gorman will collect the taxes that are legally owed by the oil and gas industry.

Joan L. Savage
Rifle

Printed in The Post Independent on November 2, 2006

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Gorman would do a good job

Dear Editor,
I am writing to add my voice to the many letters you have received in support of John Gorman for Garfield County Assessor.
I have known John for over 20 years and he is honest, conscientious, and hardworking. As assessor, I have no doubt that he would resist undue influence by special interest groups and make sure that business and industry pay what they fairly owe the county.
The voters are lucky to have a person like John Gorman who is willing to enter the political arena and work in their behalf.

John McCormick
Carbondale

Printed in The Post Independent on November 2, 2006

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Gorman calls for a change in determined performance

Dear Editor,
During my campaign, the question has been raised, "Is it the assessor's job to actually audit the oil and gas companies?" The answer lies in one of the manuals, seen in a recent ad for my opponent. Assessor's Reference Library Volume 2, Chapter 1, paragraph 2, reads, "The major duties of an assessor can be categorized as discovering, listing, classifying, and valuing all taxable real and personal property ..."
Focusing on the words "real and personal property" is important. Minerals such as oil and gas are part of real estate ownership when in the ground, and extracted minerals are personal property, both the proper object of the assessor's valuation. Accurate valuing of these extractions is as important as accurate valuing of our homes and businesses.
Currently, the gas companies self-report the value of their extractions and these are only "reviewed" by the assessor. Wouldn't it be nice if we could tell the assessor the value of our properties? Comprehensive audits look at all proprietary source documents, detailing costs, production and sales. When the industry is not paying what they owe, we make up the difference. Who likes paying someone else's taxes?
I ask for your vote because I am committed to do what has not been done: actually auditing oil and gas companies. My opponent touts years of knowledge and experience, saying "no job is too big." The fact is, the job has proven to be too big. Not one completed comprehensive audit in five years, and the one audit attempted has failed. It is time for a change in determined performance.
The experience and expertise of the assessor's staff is needed to meet the challenging, ongoing work of valuing and appraising property, meeting accuracy standards and report deadlines. There are also new challenges in training, education, and certification requirements, as well as initiating and completing the comprehensive audits discussed so much this campaign season. My commitment is to do the entire job of the assessor, including supporting each staff member and listening to the citizens of Garfield County.

Thank you for voting Gorman for assessor.

John Gorman
Glenwood Springs

Printed in The Post Independent on November 1, 2006

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Gorman will assure fair royalties from gas companies

Dear Editor,
I applaud and support the endorsement of John Gorman for Garfield County assessor by the six Garfield County mayors. John Gorman is well aware of the large and looming issues affiliated with the onslaught of gas development in Garfield County.
As reported in the Oct. 13, 2006, Post Independent, a Parachute rancher has filed a class action lawsuit against Williams Productions for underpayment of gas royalties.
EnCana Oil and Gas has also been named in a class action suit filed by mineral owners across the state. These are not the first cases reported of underpayment of royalties by the gas companies.
Where rules are in place to oversee and audit the gas companies, they must be pursued to their fullest extent. Garfield County must complete timely and accurate audits of the gas companies' self-reported royalty payments.
That is John Gorman's commitment if elected assessor, to see that Garfield County is being paid the proper and fair royalties due from the gas companies.

Tara Meixsell
New Castle

Printed in The Post Independent on October 31, 2006

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Gorman committed to audits

Dear Editor,
The recent articles concerning the Garfield County assessor's race were informative. Mr. Chapin's letter about Shannon Hurst pointed out experience and dedication, but immediately seemed shallow and self-serving once he explained he was a fellow candidate running for assessor in Eagle County. He did well explaining his experience; however, I cannot vote for him. The only experience and dedication that was pointed out for his candidate was Hurst's passion for public service.
On the other hand, Mr. Russi's letter went straight to the point, in pointing out accuracy and fairness, as well as concerns about the oil and gas industry here in Garfield County. I was appalled to find they can simply self report the value of their product. It is outrageous. Why isn't the county assessor screaming and yelling about this? Potential abuse? Give me a break, it's wide open! Then to find out one producer admitted wrongdoing. To top that off, the current assessor, Shannon Hurst, withheld relevant gas company tax documents from her own auditor, who resigned because of it. What is going on here?
The candidate John Gorman has committed to auditing the gas and oil companies, and making them pay what they owe. Needless to say, you know who I am voting for.

Jim Childers
New Castle

Printed in The Post Independent on October 31, 2006

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Gorman will make a very capable tax assessor

Dear Editor,
There is, in my view, no more important race in this years' election than that for Garfield County assessor. The vast amounts of natural gas and other products being taken from this county (and elsewhere), will only be taxed once, unlike real estate that is taxed each year. It is imperative to the future health of Garfield County that the extractors pay their full and fair share of taxes. Not only are our towns and county services strained, but, if history is any teacher, we will need massive amounts of money to clean up the mess the energy industry will leave behind.
The current assessor has shown an unwillingness or an inability to get the job done. We need a new assessor. We need John Gorman to do the job.
I know John very well, and his skill set will make him a very capable tax assessor. His character and integrity will make him a superior public servant. I personally don't know of anyone more well-suited to the task.
Do us all a big favor and vote for John Gorman for Garfield County assessor. Please.

Duke Cox
Silt

Printed in The Post Independent on October 30, 2006

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Gorman deserves support

Dear Editor,
Here we are, a few days before the election. The candidates are tired, short tempered, questioning, and wondering if they are going to win the election. How do I know? I've been there and done that. I have felt the apprehension, anxiety, and nervousness. The fantasies of winning and losing. The fears associated with wondering if you had worked every angle, talked to enough people, knocked on enough doors, waved to a sufficient amount of cars, posted plenty of signs, had endorsement from the right people, and the list goes on and on.
And to say the least, I appreciate Shannon Hurst's concerns. She is a real competitor and a fine assessor. She has dedicated much of her life in making the assessor's office what it is today.
So, do I have my preference? You bet I do. Don't we all?
I support John Gorman for a variety of reasons. John was the first to address the need to hold the gas companies accountable to pay their fair share of taxes. John sponsored and circulated an initiative that, if passed, would protect everyone from damage caused by the gas industry. It was fair, and was not partisan. Several of the candidates refused to sign it, and tried to make a partisan issue out of it. John has sought bi-partisan support. His committee is filled with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. John, who is a Democrat, can't win without the Republican support, and neither does he try to make it a partisan race. I like that kind of a candidate, because it reflects the fact that he is more interested in the job and what he can do for all of Garfield County , versus his support for the party only.
This Mayor from Silt is supporting John Gorman for Garfield County Assessor, and asks you to do the same.

Mayor David Moore
Silt

Printed in The Post Independent on October 27, 2006

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Gorman is the right choice for assessor

Dear Editor,
Though the current assessor touts her 22 years experience as making her the better candidate, only five were as assessor.
Look what hasn't happened in those critical five years. New duties faced the assessor office. The assessor's staff sat in on the Savage lawsuit in 2003. The court order that couldn't be appealed should've recouped the county revenue on $4 million added valuation simply by asking. Ms. Hurst never asked. Other royalty owners asked, and reaped income with interest. Tax money due the county was withheld from these royalty owners by Williams, but Ms. Hurst never requested it be paid. Williams benefits, and the county is shortchanged.
The current assessor says she's qualified to do audits boasting three performed, two to go. The county-hired, expert, accredited consultant refutes her claim they're truly audits, since she doesn't get to see source documents. Ms. Hurst submitted two "audits" for state review, asking $60,000 total in back taxes from Williams. Based upon public record of Williams' data, an accurate audit should average ten times that amount each year.
What else? Known underreporting and manipulations of oil and gas industry figures used to set county valuations means revenue loss to the county. At least three Williams employees plead guilty this year to conspiracy to manipulate gas prices for 1998-2002, with 75 percent of trades deliberately fabricated. Royalty owners proved underpayment of royalties, which are the same volumes and prices used to set county valuations. Williams hasn't voluntarily corrected to the county their known errors in the Savage case. And the current assessor hasn't gone after them.
If Ms. Hurst has the experience, knowledge and integrity to be assessor, why postpone audits and then do incomplete ones? Why didn't she pursue known revenue sources? In failing to perform her job in a complete and timely manner, she's cost Garfield County substantial income. How many programs could have been funded, had she promptly and correctly done her job? The facts certainly show she's not qualified for public office.
John Gorman is clearly the right, no, the only choice for Garfield County Assessor.

Marion Wells
Parachute

Printed in The Post Independent on October 27, 2006

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Mayors for Gorman

To the Editor:
We have all endorsed John Gorman for Garfield County Assessor. We feel that the stakes are very high in this race because mil­lions of tax dollars may hang in the balance. John is committed to doing the comprehensive audits of the oil and gas companies that will ensure that they pay the taxes they owe. John has the leadership to make sure that these audits get done. The current county assessor has not completed a single audit of a single company in her five years in office. Without a comprehensive audit there is no way of knowing whether Garfield County taxpayers are shoul­dering the tax burden of the oil and gas compa­nies that are extracting precious, natural resources from Garfield County.
We know John and feel that he is an honest, hard-working, intelligent person who will do a fine job for Garfield County citizens. We urge you to vote for him and tell your friends and associates to do the same. We also urge you to visit John's web site at:
www.john-gorman.com, where you can read more about his positions and can help in the campaign to elect John Gorman for county assessor.

Sincerely,

Roy McClung, Mayor of Parachute
Keith Lambert, Mayor of Rifle
Dave Moore, Mayor of Silt
Frank Breslin, Mayor of New Castle
Bruce Christensen, Mayor of Glenwood Springs
Michael Hassig, Mayor of Carbondale

Printed in The Citizen Telegram on October 26, 2006

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A vote for Gorman is a vote for accuracy, fairness

Dear Editor,

The Garfield County assessor's race has been in the news a lot lately. One reason is that the assessor has the duty to levy - or assess - taxes, even property taxes on minerals.

The gas and oil industry has the remarkable privilege of self-reporting the value of their product. Liken this to 300 million taxpayers self-reporting their personal income every year to the I.R.S. The system is vulnerable to abuse by our local oil and gas producers, one of whom the Colorado Court of Appeals tells us "conceded that it had improperly calculated royalties and admitted nonpayment of royalties." The courts went on to find that the gas company had underpaid two royalty owners in Garfield County by $41Ú2 million.

In the face of this compelling evidence, should our assessor not be aggressive in collecting taxes from local gas and oil producers? If the gas companies do not pay their tax bill, either we go without repaired roads, successful schools, modern law enforcement and emergency response, and effective services - or you and I pay their bill for them.

A recent development is very troubling. It turns out that the current assessor, Shannon Hurst, withheld relevant gas company tax documents from her own auditor. The auditor then resigned because Ms. Hurst prevented her from doing her job.

Shannon Hurst appears not to have the determination nor the capability of performing an audit on the gas industry. Garfield County is changing, and given the enormous impacts of gas drilling on the western end of our county, these audits must be done.

John Gorman, Ms. Hurst's opponent, has made the gas company audits a centerpiece of his campaign. He promises to require the gas industry to pay what they owe, not just what they are willing to report.

Our county depends on accurate financial data and a thorough review of the gas companies' taxes. A vote for Mr. Gorman is a vote for accuracy and fairness, rather than continuing to coddle and trust the gas companies to "self report."

Greg Russi
New Castle

Printed in the Post Independent on October 25, 2006

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Questioning Hurst's motives for disparaging Denomy

Dear Editor,

In her Oct. 20 letter, why does Shannon Hurst question the "ethics and integrity" of Mary Ellen Denomy, the CPA that the county commissioners hired to act in the interests of Garfield County taxpayers? She does so to deflect voters' attention from the fact that the only audit of a gas company that she has conducted in five years as assessor has failed. Ms. Hurst accurately describes Ms. Denomy's central role in directing a professional audit. From the beginning, Ms. Denomy was the one who knew what to request from Williams Production and how to interpret the documents they sent back to the assessor. However, my opponent then skips over the reason the audit failed and instead casts aspersions on Ms. Denomy's reputation.

It is little wonder that Ms. Hurst did not discuss the reason, because that reason is that Ms. Hurst withheld documents, including Williams Production's tax returns, from Ms. Denomy. As Ms. Denomy stated in her resignation letter, when her request to view documents - a request allowed by state statutes - was refused by Ms. Hurst, she could no longer sign off on it, meaning that the audit failed. Ms. Hurst might claim that the audit is ongoing, but she is not licensed to sign off on an audit. What CPA would sign off on an audit in which tax returns for the entity being audited were withheld? What is my opponent's explanation for withholding documents from the consultant, forcing Ms. Denomy to resign?

Taxpayers of Garfield County deserve an honest answer to that question, and to the question of what is the actual amount of tax that the gas companies owe. In spite of years of claimed experience, my opponent has yet to discover that amount. We citizens deserve to know the truth and the full taxable value of oil and gas extractions. We, as property owners, should not be shouldering the tax burden that ought to be paid by the gas industry. As assessor, I will not be satisfied with "reviews" of declarations of value from the gas companies. Vote Gorman for assessor.

John Gorman
Glenwood Springs

Printed in the Post Independent on October 24, 2006

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Hurst not getting the job done

Dear Editor,

I'm just wondering, now that Mary Ellen Denomy has resigned as the county oil and gas auditor, just where will these audits of the gas companies end up? John Gorman will make sure that all the companies are audited on a timely basis, and if they are paying their share of the county taxes, then all is well.

However, I'm suspicious. If Joan Savage, and now Sid Lindauer, are getting shortchanged by the gas companies, wouldn't it be logical that the county is getting stiffed, too? Shannon Hurst is not getting the job done. Vote for John Gorman for assessor.

Gay Moore
Glenwood Springs

Printed in the Post Independent on October 23, 2006

 

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  Hurst 's testimony has discrepancies

Dear Editor,
“We have hired an accountant to be a consultant to the Assessor's Office to perform audits of the gas companies to ensure that the information that is sup­plied to our office for valuation is correct.”
This is the first statement in Shan­non Hurst's campaign brochure for county assessor. This statement is sim­ply untrue. My contract was to train, but not “to perform audits.” Ms. Hurst has stated this again publicly, and added that I have double-checked any numbers her office has prepared. This also is untrue. Unfortunately, a person with my credentials cannot have their name attached to documents they did not prepare without incurring profes­sional consequences. Add to these statements the fact that Ms. Hurst has logged into an office computer in my name using a password that I never was told, to prepare worksheets. These are the reasons I must extract myself from the oil and gas audits for Garfield County .
I am flattered Ms. Hurst credits me with such a gallant gesture as to termi­nate a $200-an-hour contract so some­one else may get a political job. Her lack of integrity and honesty in her campaign has required me to terminate my contract. I have made every effort to economically help her office under­stand oil and gas accounting so our county can move forward with proper oversight of the oil and gas taxes . I, In fact, have received about $7,000 over the last 10 months.
I must commend our Garfield Coun­ty Commissioners for doing everything in their power to make sure Garfield County collects the right amount of taxes, including personally escorting me into the assessor's offices. They truly are good commissioners, and should be lauded for their efforts, but they lack jurisdiction in the county assessor's office. Only the voters can determine the individual who will run that office with honesty and integrity.
Thank you, Garfield County , for offering me the chance to work for you. I repeat, I have not performed an audit, nor have I reviewed the informa­tion that Ms. Hurst claims I have.

Mary Ellen Denomy
Rifle

Printed in the Post Independent on October 19, 2006

 

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It is time for change in the assessor's office

Dear Editor,
This letter is in response to three letters (Embry, Fitzgerald, and Rippy) that appeared in the Oct. 18 edition of the Post Independent. As a former government employee (15 years), then 25 years self-employed, government employees that work in the same posi­tion for an extended period of time learn how to milk the system. Their motivational level drops over the years and their ability to survive the system increases exponentially. “Dead wood” is a term used for this type of government employee that has been in a position for a long period of time, i.e. Ms. Hurst. That's why it's important to vote in a change (new blood, so to speak).
Words like “experience,” “under­standing, “competency,” “integrity,” “knowledgeable,” and “hardworking,” are all just words, and nothing more.
The best one was written by Mr. Rippy, “Shannon ( Hurst ) is the type of employee every employer would love to have working for them.” Mr. Rippy was a government employee and has been for most of his career. So, my fel­low county voters, consider the source of these type of comments.
One other thing — voting for some­body new like John Gorman for county assessor, who has proved himself in the private sector, which is something Ms. Hurst, to my knowledge, has never accomplished, brings into the position new energy and new ideas. Why do you think term limits for elected officials and judges is a good idea?
It's time for a change don't you think?

Stan Rachesky
Glenwood Springs

Printed in the Post Independent on October 19, 2006

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Our Communities can benefit with John Gorman as County Assessor

Dear Editor,
If you're in favor of fairness in taxation, vote for John Gorman for County Assessor .
As Mayor Pro-Tem of Silt, I am proud to stand with Silt Mayor Dave Moore, Parachute Mayor Roy McClung, Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert, New Castle Mayor Frank Breslin, Glenwood Springs Mayor Bruce Christenson, and Carbondale Mayor Michael Hassig in endorsing John Gorman for County Assessor.
As town officials we deal constantly with the impacts of the booming gas well industry on public lands and infrastructures, roadways, community services and education. When budget time rolls around, local town governments struggle to provide the bare essentials in community services and infrastructure.
As a homeowner, my property value is assessed and I am expected to pay my fair share of taxes.
Conversely, the gas companies determine the taxable value of their mineral extractions and report to the Assessor.
The only way to know whether gas companies are paying their fair share is to audit them. More than 2 years ago, the Garfield County Commissioners funded the audit of one gas company suspected of misreporting the taxable value of extracted minerals. The current Assessor, Shannon Hurst has yet to complete that audit – on just ONE company. There are at least 2 dozen more gas companies that still need to be audited. Pile on top of that the existing 6-year statute of limitations for oil and gas tax payments, we simply cannot afford to delay audits any longer.
John Gorman will act immediately to put gas company audits on the fast track and make them pay their fair share.

Tod Tibbetts
Mayor Pro-Tem
Silt

Printed in the Post Independent on October 12, 2006