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PILT funding secure one more year Farm bill includes positives for counties
ByArthur Scott and Scott Perkins For County Lines
Te five-year farm bill, signed into law Feb. 7, contains sev eral critical county priorities including FY14 funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, reauthorization of vital pro- grams within the rural development title. Out of Arkansas’ 75 counties, 56 receive this federal funding at some level. PILT funding is compensation for federal lands in a county that are exempt from property taxes. PILT acreage in the State of Arkansas in FY13 was 3,270,764 with a total of $5,840,895 in payments to Arkansas counties. “Counties that receive PILT payments employ hard-working citizens that help drive their respec- tive economies. Te AAC applauds the Arkansas Congressional delega- tion’s commitment to restoring the PILT program,” Chris Villines, AAC executive director, said. “Te long- term solution should be found in a long-term funding mechanism on the Federal level and the AAC supports this effort for a more stable PILT program for years to come.” Te monies go to the county gen- eral fund, therefore, a wide array of county services can be supported by these annual payments. Te counties typically receive their federal payments in June. Polk County received $318,249 FY13 in PILT funding which
represents about 14-15 percent of Polk County’s general fund budget. “I am relieved that PILT funding was restored through the farm
bill, however, I realize that this is a one-year fix,” said Polk County Judge Brandon Ellison. “Polk County’s general fund budgets would not have made 2014 without personnel cuts had PILT not been appropriated. Even though our quorum court anticipated the money on the belief that PILT would be available, we were within days of having to make severe adjustments to ensure we would finish the year in the black. Not what you want to have to do in February. I believe the federal government has an obligation to pay some sort of taxes on land in Polk County, just as other landowners do. We provide services such as fire protection, law enforcement, and road maintenance to and through federal properties. Rural counties, such as ours, have a small tax base especially considering a high percentage of acreage is not privately owned and therefore no millage is assessed. I hope we will be able to get PILT funding classified as mandatory in the future.” Montgomery County received $585,796 in FY13 and that ac- counts for about a quarter of the county’s general fund budget. “Te reauthorizing or funding of the Payment In Lieu of Taxes
10 Out of Arkansas’ 75 counties, 56
receive this federal funding at some level. PILT funding is compensation for federal lands in a county that are exempt from property taxes.
for another year means that we won’t have to make any severe cut- backs in our general fund budget this year. PILT is approximately 25 percent of our general fund revenue,” said Alvin Black, Mont- gomery County Judge. “Had we not gotten those funds this year it would have resulted in a serious reduction of the funds we carried over into 2015, and that would have meant tremendous cutbacks in personnel and services. Te county has been in a money-saving mode for several years now. Tere just isn’t much “fluff” left in these budgets. Te only way to save significant money in county general now is to start cutting people. Fortunately we won’t have to worry about that for another year.” Black said the PILT funding that was in the recently-passed Farm bill was just for one year. Counties could be right back in this same position next year. It would be ideal if Congress could find some way to permanently fund the PILT program or possibly at least a multi-year funding mechanism so counties don’t have to face this crisis every year. Other aspects of the Farm bill Te farm bill also includes pro- grams that as sist counties in the de- velopment of rural water-wastewater infra structure, community facilities, broadband expansion, nutrition as- sistance, renewable energy, local and regional food systems, sup port for
new farmers and business development initiatives. “Te new farm bill counts as a major win for the nation’s counties and the residents we serve,” said NACo President Linda Langston. “It cannot be overstated how im portant 2014 PILT program fund ing and reauthorization of county-supported rural development programs are to local economies as we work to emerge from years of recession and slow economic growth.”
Farm bill details: n $435 million PILT funding for FY14, which is a $35 million increase over FY13 funding (post-sequestration). PILT payments al low local governments with federal land in their juris- dictions, including 1,850 counties in 49 states, to pro vide critical services for residents, such as education, solid waste dis posal, law enforcement, search and rescue, health care, environmental
compliance, firefighting and parks and recreation and; n $228 million in mandatory funding for the rural develop- ment title, including language that would allow the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture to prioritize up to 10 percent of their funds for multi-jurisdictional projects. In other county-related issues, the legislation codifies EPA’s long-standing policy that specific silvicultural (forest manage- ment) activities do not require National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2014
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