The U.S. Congress finally passed a federal budget, and on Wednesday, it gained funding. But left out was a key component relied on by Western states.
Payment in Lieu of Taxes, called PILT, which has been used to compensate counties in the West for missing out on property-tax revenues because large tracts of federal lands are tax-exempt, was not included in the budget bill.
The exclusion is a blow to counties that depend on the federal PILT payments to help pay for local services, from law enforcement and social services to education and infrastructure.
Montezuma County, containing 70 percent public lands, is missing out on $163,243 in PILT funding authorized for 2014, reports county Administrator Melissa Brunner.
“We will see across-the-board budget cuts to all departments without it,” she said.
Dolores County will have about a $140,000 budget shortfall because of the lack of PILT payments. La Plata county will miss out on $600,000; and Archuleta County on $1 million.
U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, along with 60 Western legislators, voted against the appropriation bill because of the PILT funding omission. In a phone interview minutes after the vote, he called the oversight “a blatant disregard” of a very important Western issue.
“It is a primary funding mechanism for 29 counties in the 3rd Congressional District I represent, and we are dissatisfied that leadership does not understand the importance of PILT to the West,” Tipton said. “I don’t understand the mind-set on both sides of the aisle. It is not a partisan issue.”
Colorado received nearly $32 million in PILT payments for 2013, with more than $21 million going to counties in the 3rd District.
However, there may be a solution for funding PILT on the horizon, Tipton said.
In a meeting with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Tipton and other Western legislators were assured funding for PILT likely would go through as an attachment to the farm bill.
“We’re taking their word on it and sent a letter reminding them of their obligation,” Tipton said.
But it is not a sure thing. The farm bill has been languishing and has not been passed for two years. But it is in conference committee, and observers are cautiously optimistic that the legislation will be voted on soon.
Colorado’s U.S. senators, Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, both Democrats, along with other Western representatives, have sent a letter to the conference committee urging PILT funding.
“Without an extension of PILT, rural counties will face drastic budget cuts in June and may struggle to fund the most basic of services,” the letter states. “In fact, some of these counties may be faced with potential insolvency.”
Udall introduced a bill earlier this week to permanently fund the program, and it was co-sponsored Thursday in the House by Dean Heller, R-Nev. Advocates are urging swift action on the Udall-Heller bill.
“PILT is not a discretionary fund to be used for other purposes,” Heller said. “It is an obligation the federal government has to any county with public lands.”
