Utah tallies in-lieu tax funds

WASHINGTON — Utah received a little more than $20 million Friday from the Interior Department to help make up for lost property taxes that cannot be collected on federal lands within the state.

Salt Lake County received $126,531 in payment-in-lieu-of-taxes funds, known as PILT money, for 96,311 acres, up just $217 from the 2006 payment, according to a chart from the Interior Department.

"PILT is vital to rural counties in Utah," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "So much of Utah's land is tied up by the federal government, which hurts the tax base that counties rely on to provide funding for schools, roads and public safety services. We need PILT funds to help pay the bills. Of course we'd like to see more, but it's good that Utah is not losing any funding this year, while many other states are."

Tooele County received the largest share of the $20,057,363 the state received from the Interior Department with $1.9 million for roughly 2 million acres, although the county's payment was about $8,000 less than 2006.

"We recognize the importance of these communities in helping to support federal lands, and this money will help pay for essential services, such as firefighting and emergency response, and to help improve school, water and road systems," Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said in a statement.

But Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said "the current levels just aren't enough."

"With so much land locked up and under federal control, PILT payments are critical for our counties to be able to financially survive and to provide important services," Bishop said. "We fight for increased funding each year, and we're at it again this year ... but even more than the money, what Western counties really need and deserve is their lands back. Until they get more back of what is rightfully theirs, PILT is just a small down payment on the rent that is due from the feds."

Hatch said he was pleased that Utah's funding level remained stable at $20 million while most other states saw decreases, but he also aims to continue his efforts to seek full funding for the program.

"A decade ago, the PILT program was funded at only one-third its authorized level, today it's at two-thirds," Hatch said. "We have worked hard to get it to where it is today, and we'll keep fighting until we get PILT fully funded."

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and has helped to more than double the state's PILT payments, according to his office.

"PILT is extremely important to all 29 of Utah's counties," Bennett said. "It is only fair that the federal government pay its share."

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