As Tucker County faces the prospect of hosting a massive gas-powered data center complex, one question remains unanswered: how much will this cost us?

The Ridgeline facility, backed by out-of-state interests and fast-tracked under HB 2014, could reshape our economy and our landscape. Developers like Fundamental data LLC tout jobs and investment but refuse to guarantee even one local job. We don’t know what we are going to get. And the bigger question is what we stand to lose–especially in local tax revenue.

Under HB 2014 rules, property taxes that would normally support Tucker County Schools and public services can be redirected to state-controlled funds. In other states, similar data center projects have drained hundreds of millions from local budgets. Virginia lost nearly $1 billion in one year. A 2024 data center industry analysis shows that for every $1 abated from the Virginia data center sales tax exemption, the state only got back 48 cents. Texas increased its projected tax revenue loss from data center exemptions from $130 million to over $1 billion in under two years, driven by explosive growth in hyperscale facilities, uncapped sales and electricity tax breaks, and surging AI infrastructure investments.

These losses are hidden from public view. That’s why the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) created Statement No. 77, which requires governments to disclose how much revenue they lose to tax abatements.

If Tucker County is giving up future revenue to Ridgeline, we have a right to know–and our local officials have a duty to report it. So far, there’s no public accounting of what Ridgeline will cost us. No disclosure of anticipated tax breaks. No transparency about how HB 2014 will affect our schools, roads, or emergency services.

We’re not asking for much–just some straight answers. If Ridgeline’s coming to town, we ought to know what it’s going to cost us. Our schools, our roads, our emergency services–they all run on local dollars. If those dollars are being siphoned off to help out billion-dollar tech companies, we deserve to see the receipts. We’ve stood up before when outsiders tried to take advantage of Tucker County. It’s time to do it again.

We call on the Tucker County Commission to comply with GASB 77 and publish a full accounting of any expected revenue losses tied to the Ridgeline project.

Let’s keep it simple: show us the numbers.

Amy Margolies

Davis