With the media account that Upstate NY towns explore seceding to Pennsylvania over taxes, hydrofracking, the stage is set for a clash of constitutional power politics.

“The Upstate New York Towns Association feels pushed to the limit by high property taxes, low sales tax revenue and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's decision to ban hydraulic fracturing in the state. This combination has driven them to research whether leaving New York to become part of Pennsylvania is a realistic possibility.

"The Southern Tier is desolate," Conklin Town Supervisor Jim Finch (R) told WBNG. "We have no jobs and no income. The richest resource we have is in the ground."

The ground in Conklin has natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, and Finch sees the ban as a violation of property owners' rights.

According to the report, the 15 towns interested in seceding are in Broome, Delaware, Tioga and Sullivan counties, but the Towns Association would not reveal the names of the towns.”

Read the entire article on the "Negotium" archives
http://www.batr.org/negotium/022515.html

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