Consent 4.
Regular Board of Supervisors Meeting
Board of Supervisors
- Meeting Date:
- 01/28/2014
- Title:
- Payment in Lieu of Taxes Resolution
- Submitted By:
- Arlethe Rios, Board of Supervisors
- Department:
- Board of Supervisors
Presentation:
No A/V Presentation
Recommendation:
Approve
Document Signatures:
BOS Signature Required
# of ORIGINALS
Submitted for Signature:
Submitted for Signature:
1
NAME
of PRESENTER:
of PRESENTER:
n/a
TITLE
of PRESENTER:
of PRESENTER:
n/a
Docket Number (If applicable):
Mandated Function?:
Not Mandated
Source of Mandate
or Basis for Support?:
or Basis for Support?:
Information
Agenda Item Text:
Adopt Resolution 14-04 Requesting the Congress of the United States to immediately provide full funding for the Payment-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes (PILT) Program.
Background:
The Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILT) program was established in 1976 to offset costs incurred by counties for services provided to the federal government and to the users of federal lands located within a county. The State of Arizona contains 113,417 square miles of land, with federally owned land, excluding tribal lands, comprising 42 percent of the land mass, while private land in Arizona comprises only 17 percent. The national average PILT payment in Fiscal Year 2013 was $0.66 per acre, far below the amount federal lands would return through both value based taxation and economic development.
Cochise County is required to provide law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency services, road building and maintenance, and other community services on, or associated with tax-exempt federal public lands. Congress failed to provide funding for the PILT program in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, jeopardizing PILT funding for Cochise County that is estimated to result in a loss of some 36 County government jobs and causing great uncertainty about county finances and services in Fiscal Year 2014 and Fiscal Year 2015.
A lack of PILT funding places the large, unsustainable burden of providing services on federal lands squarely on the back of Cochise County tax payers, while the presence of that federal land creates barriers to further economic opportunities. Failure to provide PILT funding to Arizona counties in a timely manner will critically impact the budget process and structural solvency of Cochise County, and substantially compromise the county’s ability to provide essential services.
Cochise County is required to provide law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency services, road building and maintenance, and other community services on, or associated with tax-exempt federal public lands. Congress failed to provide funding for the PILT program in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, jeopardizing PILT funding for Cochise County that is estimated to result in a loss of some 36 County government jobs and causing great uncertainty about county finances and services in Fiscal Year 2014 and Fiscal Year 2015.
A lack of PILT funding places the large, unsustainable burden of providing services on federal lands squarely on the back of Cochise County tax payers, while the presence of that federal land creates barriers to further economic opportunities. Failure to provide PILT funding to Arizona counties in a timely manner will critically impact the budget process and structural solvency of Cochise County, and substantially compromise the county’s ability to provide essential services.
Department's Next Steps (if approved):
Send Letter to Arizona Senators.
Impact of NOT Approving/Alternatives:
Senators Flake and McCain will not know Cochise County's stance on PILT funding.
To BOS Staff: Document Disposition/Follow-Up:
Send copy of signed resolution via email to CSA, Senator McCain's Office, and Senator Jeff Flake's Office.