County clears decades-old unpaid gas-well taxes, urges towns and assessors to improve reporting

Chautauqua County officials moved to cancel long-delinquent taxes tied to gas-well production, citing widespread difficulty collecting from defunct operators and concerns about the county becoming liable if it forecloses on wells.

"My recommendation that we cancel these taxes because we will never see that money," said Kimolene, director of real property tax services, explaining her office's efforts to reach companies and the decision to cancel when collection was not feasible.

Tax staff described a broader administrative problem: assessors do not always receive reporting or timely title-transfer information for mineral-rights transactions, which can leave new owners unaware of past unpaid tax liabilities. Officials said the county has absorbed roughly $360,000 in unpaid gas-well taxes that were later charged back to towns.

Committee members discussed options to reduce future occurrences, including directing assessors to monitor state reporting systems, better title-transfer checks, and legislative changes. Officials said foreclosure is rarely feasible because a foreclosed well can become a county liability due to environmental or plugging costs.

The committee approved the tax cancellations and asked staff to continue discussions with assessors and stakeholders to reduce future liabilities.

What happens next: Finance will issue chargebacks to towns for the cancelled amounts under existing statutory processes; tax services will pursue procedural changes to improve reporting and notifications at the time mineral-rights transfers occur.