As California Governor Gavin Newsom continues cracking down on the state's oil industry, local officials say that a move away from oil may carry some unintended consequences.
If Kern's oil industry took a hit, so would it's economy. And that would manifest itself in many ways, one of which being property taxes. Kern collects property taxes based on the value of oil and gas reserves within county lines. So if the value of everything collected is gone, that could mean trouble.
"Property tax is the primary funding source for the fire department, any changes in the evaluation of lands, especially our oil lands, will have a significant impact to that budget," said David Nelson, the President of the Kern County Firefighters Association, a union that represents the Kern County Fire Department.