LEON COUNTY, FL (WTXL) - Leon County officials met with leaders on Capitol Hill to push for funding for a program that offsets property tax revenue from federal lands.
“Without congressional action, there could be significant budget shortfalls in counties across the country,” said Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge. “Leon County provides continued services for federal public lands, and Congress should provide ongoing, predictable funding to support them.”
Leon County joined the National Association of Counties (NACo) from Wednesday to Friday to urge members of Congress to support a full investment in the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program in 2017 and permanent funding in the future.
Officials said the PILT program supports vital county services including road and bridge maintenance, public safety and environmental compliance.
“The county delivers services to support our residents and visitors to federal public lands within our boundaries,” said Desloge. “The PILT program supports services like law enforcement, emergency medical services, search-and-rescue efforts, road maintenance and waste disposal.”
62 percent of the nation’s counties have federal public lands, including Leon County, where federal lands make up 24.4 percent of the county. For 2016, the county received PILT payments of $206,015.
In 2016, Congress appropriated $452 million for the PILT program, allotted to approximately 1,900 counties and other local governments across 49 states. The funding for PILT is set to expire at the end of September 2016.
For more information on the PILT program, click here.
