Feds send $12 million to counties in lieu of taxes

Pamplin Media Group, Jun 29, 2010 (1 Reader comment)

Oregon counties will share $12.65 million in federal Payments in Lieu of Taxes to be distributed this week.

Clackamas County will receive $204,123 in funds paid each year to compensate states and counties for non-taxable federal land in their jurisdictions. Washington County will get $33,529. Multnomah County will get $26,488. Columbia County will receive $26,280.

Malheur County in Eastern Oregon will get the state’s highest amount, $2.31 million, followed by Lake County at $995,130.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said Tuesday that more than 1,850 local governments across the nation will receive $358.1 million in payments this year through the program.

The 2010 payments were delayed because of late reporting by some agencies and the complexity of evaluating prior year payments authorized by the Mineral Leasing Act and the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley said he was happy the federal government made the payments after the delay.

“Oregon taxpayers don’t have the luxury of waiting to pay their property taxes, and the federal government shouldn’t either,” Merkley said. “Many of the rural counties across Oregon have large tracts of federal land, which don’t pay property taxes, and they count on the program to fund vital services for their communities, including public safety, social services, transportation and housing. Without these funds, county workers would be laid off and vital services would be cut.”

The Interior Department collects about $4 billion in revenue annually from commercial activities on federal lands, such as oil and gas leasing, livestock grazing and timber harvesting. A portion of the revenue is shared with states and counties. The balance is deposited in the U.S. Treasury.

States and counties receiving the payments must have nontaxable federal lands and provide services related to public safety, housing, social services, transportation and the environment. The payments are based on a formula that takes into account the number of acres of federal land and the state or county population.

The land includes the National Forest and National Park Systems, those managed by the Bureau of Land Management, those affected by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation water resource development projects.

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