Rocky cited energy industry's study on its Denver-area economic "footprint," but no context

Summary: Reporting on a study commissioned by the state's energy industry regarding its economic impact, the Rocky Mountain News stated that "the oil and gas industry has a sizeable footprint in metro Denver." The News gave no context for the employment and tax figures it referred to as "sizeable," but based on its own figures, the industry represents 1.8 percent of workers employed and 2.4 percent of property taxes levied in the seven-county Denver metro area.

In a March 27 article reporting that "the oil and gas industry has a sizeable footprint in metro Denver," the Rocky Mountain News provided statistics from a report commissioned by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) but did not provide any context for the quoted figures it described as "sizeable." Specifically, the News reported that "the energy industry employs 26,382 in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties," but did not note that according to February 2008 figures from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), the statistics in the COGA report indicate the energy industry represents 1.8 percent of employment in those counties. Similarly, the News reported that "oil and gas companies paid $25.8 million in local taxes on property assessments levied in 2007." However, figures obtained from the assessor's offices for the seven counties the News cited indicate that amount represents 2.4 percent of property taxes levied by the city and county governments for those counties.

The News reported that COGA president Meg Collins commissioned the report from the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc. because "a variety of people in the past two months have asked how many people did we employ in metro Denver, how much did we pay in taxes."

From the March 27 Rocky Mountain News article by Gargi Chakrabarty, "Oil, gas have big presence in Denver area, report finds":

Far from the drilling fields, the oil and gas industry has a sizeable footprint in metro Denver.

[...]

Commissioned earlier this year by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, a trade body, the report found that 1,519 oil and gas companies occupy more than 10.9 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space in the metro area.

Also, the energy industry employs 26,382 in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.

This presence also translates into higher incomes for taxing authorities.

For example, oil and gas companies paid $25.8 million in local taxes on property assessments levied in 2007.

"It's well understood that the oil and natural gas industry plays a significant role in Colorado's economy, but it is enlightening to see the impact it has had on the state's capitol city," said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in a release.

COGA President Meg Collins said "a variety of people in the past two months have asked how many people did we employ in metro Denver, how much did we pay in taxes" and that she didn't have an answer.

"So we asked Cushman and Wakefield to take a look," Collins said. "(This report) reinforces how proud we are of the important role that industry plays in metro Denver, not just statewide."

The introduction to the Cushman & Wakefield report stated that the firm obtained information about oil and gas industry real estate, taxes, and employment in the Denver metro area through telephone surveys and by "utilizing qualified data sources," which Cushman & Wakefield described in a footnote as "Site Solutions (C&W's proprietary commercial real estate database), county Assessor offices, Dunn & Bradstreet, Harris, Reuters, CoStar, Colorado Real Estate Journal, Denver Business Journal, other supporting publications and subscription-based data services."

The CDLE website features a searchable database* that provides employment figures by county. The database's figures for February 2008 indicate that 214,172 people were employed in Adams County; 300,363 in Arapahoe County; 171,488 in Boulder County; 25,242 in Broomfield County, 301,963 in Denver County; 151,029 in Douglas County; and 302,167 in Jefferson County. The oil and gas industry employment of 26,382 cited by COGA would represent 1.8 percent of the total 1,466,424 employed in the seven-county metro area.

The assessor's office for each county produces a yearly "abstract of assessment." According to the 2007 abstracts, property tax revenues collected for city and county governments (excluding collections for other purposes, such as school districts, fire districts, and special districts) were $143,766,299 in Adams County; $169,871,390 in Arapahoe County; $171,339,926 in Boulder County; $28,072,126 in Broomfield County; $289,105,557 in Denver County; $91,831,723 in Douglas County; and $196,168,976 in Jefferson County. Oil and gas industry property tax payments of $25.8 million that the COGA report cited would represent 2.4 percent of the $1.09 billion levied by the city and county governments in the seven Denver metro counties in 2007.

*Colorado Media Matters searched the employment database by selecting the "Area Profile" link under the "Analysts and Researchers" heading on the CDLE home page. From there Colorado Media Matters selected the "Tabular Area Summary" link and then the "A Specific County" link, which provided a drop-down menu of counties.

—E.B.