WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that counties across New Mexico will receive more than $42.6 million through the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for Fiscal Year 2018. The total is a $4.1 million increase from the total payments the state received last year, helped by the advocacy of Udall and Heinrich. A full list of funding by county and the final state total is included below.
PILT provides federal payments to local governments to help offset losses in property taxes because of nontaxable federal land within their jurisdictions, including national parks and forests, wildlife refuges, and Bureau of Land Management land. Local governments use PILT funding to provide police, fire protection, emergency response, road maintenance and other crucial services to residents. New Mexico counties received payments for over 22 million acres of nontaxable federal land.
"I'm proud to continue delivering the funding for New Mexico counties to deliver critical services, like schools, roads and public safety, and I am very pleased to see an increase for the state overall," said Udall, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. "New Mexico is proud to host our military bases, national monuments and other facilities that support our economy and generate tourism in our state. But local governments need budget certainty to ensure that all New Mexicans receive consistent basic services. We currently fund PILT year by year, but that isn't good enough. As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations committee, I'll continue to work for full, permanent funding to ensure local communities have the economic security they need."
“Rural communities across New Mexico rely on PILT funds to provide for emergency response, maintain roads and bridges, and support local jobs," said Heinrich. "I’m glad we were successful in securing funding for this year’s payments, but we still need permanent funding for PILT to give counties in New Mexico more long-term predictability. I will continue to fight for full, permanent PILT funding so our counties have the budget certainty they need to succeed.”
After years of funding PILT inconsistently, in 2008 Congress fully and automatically funded PILT for five years. In a 2012 transportation bill, full funding was extended for another year, leaving the future beyond 2013 uncertain. Udall and Heinrich have successfully secured PILT funding every year since and continue to fight for a long-term solution. The increased 2018 funding was included in the Interior, EPA and Related Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2018 which was enacted as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act enacted in March of 2018.
The PILT program is administered by the Department of the Interior. The department calculates annual payments to local governments based on the number of acres of federal entitlement land within each county and the population of that county. The lands include the National Forest and National Park Systems, lands in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge System, and areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
New Mexico PILT Payments for fiscal year 2018:
BERNALILLO COUNTY - $238,335
CATRON COUNTY - $639,528
CHAVES COUNTY - $3,225,294
CIBOLA COUNTY - $2,110,699
COLFAX COUNTY - $197,367
DE BACA COUNTY - $110,516
DONA ANA COUNTY - $3,189,584
EDDY COUNTY - $3,598,621
GRANT COUNTY - $2,558,024
GUADALUPE COUNTY - $162,226
HARDING COUNTY - $116,768
HIDALGO COUNTY - $739,903
LEA COUNTY - $1,128,578
LINCOLN COUNTY - $1,889,698
LOS ALAMOS COUNTY - $93,625
LUNA COUNTY - $1,999,158
MCKINLEY COUNTY - $1,094,772
MORA COUNTY - $306,596
OTERO COUNTY - $3,597,259
QUAY COUNTY - $4,840
RIO ARRIBA COUNTY - $3,232,674
ROOSEVELT COUNTY - $28,709
SAN JUAN COUNTY - $2,316,470
SAN MIGUEL COUNTY - $1,040,459
SANDOVAL COUNTY - $2,416,206
SANTA FE COUNTY - $812,453
SIERRA COUNTY - $1,336,642
SOCORRO COUNTY - $1,735,241
TAOS COUNTY - $2,036,719
TORRANCE COUNTY - $425,806
UNION COUNTY - $155,864
VALENCIA COUNTY - $91,858
STATE TOTAL - $42,630,492
