Churchill receives $2.1 million in PILT funds

Nevada counties will receive more than $25 million in federal Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) from the U.S. Department of the Interior, a record-high funding level, said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

More than $2 million is going to Churchill County.

PILT compensates counties and local governments for non-taxable federal land in their jurisdictions such as the U.S. Navy operations in Churchill County. In 2008, Reid ensured that Nevada’s rural communities would have sufficient funding for important public programs. Since then, the PILT program has been fully funded. PILT was included in the Farm Bill of 2014, which Reid supported.

“PILT funding has a remarkable impact for Nevada counties,” Reid said. “Over 85 percent of the land in Nevada is owned by the federal government, making it essential that Nevada receive its fair share. These funds support rural communities across Nevada in funding high-quality education, law enforcement, and healthcare systems. I will work to ensure PILT is again funded for this upcoming fiscal year.”

Reid said PILT is paid to counties to compensate for the loss of tax revenue due to federal land ownership. The formula used to compute the payments is based on population levels, receipt sharing payments and the amount of Federal land within an affected county. PILT is currently set to expire at the end of September 2014. The President’s FY2015 Budget Submission to Congress included a one-year extension of PILT, and the Nevada delegation will work for full funding for PILT in FY 2015 and beyond. Under the current formula for the program, Nevada’s PILT payments rose roughly $2.1 million from $23.3 million to $25.4 million.