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Tipton gives signature for fed land payment

Tipton

The members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado signed a bipartisan open letter to House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi calling for the prioritization of funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program for fiscal year 2016.

The letter – signed by U.S. Reps. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, Ken Buck, Doug Lamborn, Mike Coffman and Ed Perlmutter – also urged for a long-term, sustainable solution for the PILT program.

PILT provides federal payments to local governments to compensate for revenue lost because federal land is exempt from local and state property taxes.

These funds enable local governments to perform services such as fire-fighting and police protection, search-and-rescue operations and the construction of public schools and roads.

“While it must be Congress’ ultimate goal to enact a long-term, sustainable solution to eliminate the ongoing uncertainty counties face, full-funding in FY16 for the PILT program is essential to provide our counties with the certainty they need to plan their own 2016 budgets,” the letter states.

“Full funding of the PILT program will enable the federal government to meet its long-standing obligations to counties with federal land within their jurisdictions. It is imperative that we fulfill this obligation.”

Mandatory PILT funding expired in 2013, which has forced the program to rely on yearly appropriations. Counties have been forced to wait and see how much they will receive in compensation for lost revenues, creating uncertainty for those with large amounts of federal land.

Colorado received $34.5 million in PILT payments in 2014, while La Plata County received $760,455, according to data from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

La Plata County has budgeted to receive $575,000 in 2015 from PILT.

Michael Cipriano is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.



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