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WYDEN, SMITH ANNOUNCE MORE
THAN $6.2 MILLION
FOR OREGON COUNTIES
Counties will receive federal aid as part
of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program
June 17, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S.
Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) announced
that today, 34 Oregon counties will receive payments totaling
$6,245,153 as part of the federal government’s Payment In
Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. The PILT program is designed to
compensate local communities for tax revenue lost because of nontaxable
federal land in their counties.
“It is critical for the
federal government to provide the proper amount of funding to
communities that support federally owned lands and the agencies
that manage them,” said Wyden. “These funds are a
good first step, but with more than half of Oregon’s land
being federally owned, we have a long way to go before PILT funding
is where it should be.”
“When economic times are
tough and federal lands aren’t generating revenue for rural
economies, PILT payments are the bare minimum that the federal
government needs to take responsibility for,” said Smith.
“They are critical to helping communities meet growing demands
for essential public services such as law enforcement, search
and rescue, and sanitation.”
PILT funds can be used for any
governmental purpose such as police protection, fire protection,
or school and road maintenance.
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