Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall are urging the leadership of several Senate committees to ensure that they prioritize federal resources for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. These resources are critical to Colorado counties that use the funding to provide services, such as police, fire protection, emergency response and public education.

In a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Appropriations, Budget, and Energy and Natural Resources Committees, the senators wrote, “Dozens of counties in Colorado contain high percentages of federal public land and PILT resources often make up significant portions of their county budgets.  These dollars help fund essential services for the citizens of these rural communities and create important family-wage jobs that stand to be lost in a still-recovering economy.  Without consistent and predictable resources into the future, county budgets face drastic cuts, and even potential insolvency.”

“The federal government needs to honor our commitment to our counties through this vital program,” the senators added.

Bennet and Udall have been strong advocates for fully funding the PILT program. Last year, the senators led the fight in support of PILT and the Secure Rural Schools funding, which was secured in the transportation bill signed into law last summer.

PILT provides federal payments to local governments to help offset losses in property taxes due to nontaxable federal land within their boundaries. The formula used to calculate payments is based on population, receipt sharing payments, and the amount of federal land within an affected county.

Read below for full text of the letter:

December 10, 2013

Dear Senators:

We write to request that your committees prioritize programmatic certainty and robust resources for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.  The PILT program provides critical funding to more than 1,900 counties in 49 states and territories, making up for diminished tax revenues stemming from Federal ownership of land within county boundaries.

Dozens of counties in Colorado contain high percentages of federal public land and PILT resources often make up significant portions of their county budgets.  These dollars help fund essential services for the citizens of these rural communities and create important family-wage jobs that stand to be lost in a still-recovering economy.  Without consistent and predictable resources into the future, county budgets face drastic cuts, and even potential insolvency. The federal government needs to honor our commitment to our counties through this vital program.

We urge you to prioritize certainty and robust funding for the PILT program into the future. Moving forward, I hope that we can work together to seek a long-term solution to the uncertainty that now faces PILT as its mandatory funding has expired.  Thank you for your consideration of this important request.