Counties receive PILT payments

Nevada counties will receive $11.5 million this year as provided for in the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act. This is an increase over the 2001 payment, which was $10.9 million.

The Bureau of Land Management will send almost $210 million to about 1,900 local governments in accordance with the payment act for fiscal year 2002.

Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton announced PILT payments are being sent three months earlier to help local governments budget for their fiscal years, many of which begin July 1.

The land management agency administers PILT payments, which are provided by the federal government to offset tax revenues lost because of tax-exempt federal land in their jurisdictions.

"PILT payments are essential to support vital community services -- such as firefighting, police protection and providing health care -- in rural communities across the West," said Director Kathleen Clarke."By moving up the payments, we are providing counties with great flexibility to manage their budgets."

Congress appropriates funds for PILT payments to eligible units of local government each year. The land management agency calculates the amount of payments using a formula based on population and the amount of federal land in a local jurisdiction.

These payments are in addition to federal revenues transferred to local government under other programs, such as income generated from the use of federal land for livestock grazing, timber harvests and mineral receipts.

The amounts counties in Nevada will receive are: Carson City, $55,656; Churchill, $1,003,277; Clark, $1,579,548; Douglas, $324,771; Elko, $1,516,539; Esmeralda, $76,979; Eureka, $130,888; Humboldt, $749,568; Lander, $445,399; Lincoln, $330,193; Lyon, $1,026,294; Mineral $386,895; Nye, $1,245,237; Pershing, $489,334; Storey $16,921; Washoe, $1,584,062 and White Pine, $544,839.

This year's PILT payments across the US. of $209,364,595 are an increase of $10,203,715 over the payments for fiscal year 2001. Changes in payments are due to the amount appropriated by Congress and changes in other federal revenues. Since the PILT program began in 1977, the BLM has distributed more than $2.7 billion.