|
County Will Get A 62 Percent Increase In ‘PILT’ Funding
by: Reports
For The Mountain Mail
Contact:
Mountain Mail Reports
Socorro County will receive more money than expected this fiscal year through the federal Payment In Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, program.
PILT funds are paid to compensate for certain tax-exempt federal lands. Payments are made directly to local governments, usually counties, in areas with substantial acreage of federal lands, like national forests, national parks, national wildlife refuges, lands used for federal water programs and lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
More than a third of Socorro County’s land is controlled by the federal government, which means 1,564,400 acres are not on the property tax rolls.
Last year Socorro County received $939,987 in PILT funding, while this year the county will get $1,494,000, a 62 percent increase.
Socorro County Treasurer Genevie Baca said the extra funds are coming at a time when the general account needs the money. Both Sens. Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman worked to secure the funding.
“When you have someone up there who really cares, it pays off for all the people,” Baca said.
Statewide, New Mexico is getting an additional $13.6 million for a total of $36 million – the largest amount of any state. The Secure Rural Schools program, which provides funding to schools in forested communities, also has been expanded.
“New Mexico counties fare very well this year with the additional PILT payments. And with our nation’s economy in distress, this increased funding couldn’t have come at a better time,” Bingaman said in a press release. “A number of experts have called for payments to counties as a key strategy to help stimulate the economy.”
Sen. Pete Domenici, a member of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the PILT program, said the latest installment of funds supplements the $22.4 million received by New Mexico counties in June.
Socorro County received $930,169 in June and will get an extra $564,433.
The new funding is the result of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, passed by Congress in October, which fully funded PILT through 2012.
“These are hard times, so fully funding PILT is coming at the right time for our counties. This revenue source, and the money to be paid in succeeding years, should help our counties provide the services that our residents need,” Domenici said in a press release. “I am pleased that this year New Mexico counties will receive the full amount to which they are federally entitled, and hope Congress will continue to take steps to fully compensate counties for the federal land ownership within their borders.”
Catron County will receive an extra $332,066, to bring its total PILT payment for the fiscal year to $533,566.
The federal government owns at least 33 percent, or 22.5 million acres, of the land in New Mexico, which has traditionally received the highest payment of all 50 states and territories.
Only Curry County does not receive PILT funding, because there is no eligible federal land within its borders. |
|
|
Home | Archives | Contact/About | Links