Cooperative Extension Service Communications and Technology Department 3354 1000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071 (307) 766-2540 • fax (307) 766-3998 • www.uwyo.edu

 

For Immediate Release

 

Contact: Robert Waggener, Editor

Phone: (307) 766-3571

E-mail: robertw@uwyo.edu

 

Date: April 20, 2006

UW releases 2005 PILT facts for Wyoming’s 23 counties

PILT payments to Wyoming’s 23 counties increased approximately 1.25 percent from 2004 to 2005, according to the University of Wyoming’s Cooperative Extension Service (UW CES).

Wyoming’s share of federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) climbed from $14.63 million to $14.81 million mainly due to a slight increase in the prorated share authorized by Congress, said Tom Foulke, an assistant research scientist in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

“The formula for PILT calculates a payment, but Congress must authorize the payment to be made. In 2005, that prorated share amounted to 68.2 percent, up marginally from the 67.7 percent authorized in 2004,” Foulke said.

The county receiving the highest PILT payment in 2005 was Natrona, which netted $1.91 million. Laramie County received the lowest payment with $13,900.

Natrona County is 43-percent federally owned while the federal government owns just 1 percent of Laramie County.

Ranking second behind Natrona County in the 2005 PILT payments was Sweetwater County with $1.62 million, while Fremont came in third with $1.55 million in payments.

Sweetwater is 69-percent federally owned while the Fremont figure is 54 percent.

“It is interesting to note there were several decreases in PILT payments for 2005. Campbell, Converse, Sheridan and Weston counties all saw smaller payments compared to 2004,” Foulke said.

“The reason appears to be that these counties had higher revenue sharing payments in 2004,” he said. (These are payments from the U.S. Forest Service to counties with forest lands.) “Prior year’s revenue sharing payments are subtracted from the current year’s PILT amount in the formula. This, combined with the marginal increase in the prorated share, resulted in the ’05 PILT payment being less than the previous year for these counties.”

Counties that receive larger increases in revenue sharing payments in one year can expect the possibility of a reduced PILT payment the following year, he said.

Payments to individual counties vary widely based on the amount of federal land in the county, population and any prior years’ federal revenue sharing payments received, Foulke said.

“Federal lands are not subject to property taxes that support county governments and education. Local communities, however, play an important role in supporting the management of federal lands,” he noted.

In 1976, Congress authorized federal land management agencies to share income with states and counties by creating the PILT program to offset lost tax revenue.

“The PILT program helps counties make up for ‘lost’ revenue that counties would normally collect through property taxes if the land were privately held,” Foulke said.

He noted the agricultural and applied economics department and CES publish simplified fact sheets annually to show how PILT payments are calculated for each county. 

“Local government officials and interested persons can see how these monies are calculated in order to better understand this revenue source,” he noted.

The PILT fact sheets were prepared by a team of extension specialists with the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. The team included Foulke and community development specialists Roger Coupal and David “Tex” Taylor.

Copies of the 2005 fact sheets for each Wyoming county can be obtained locally at a CES office or downloaded free at http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/UWces/PILTS.asp.

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