U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) recently joined a rally of support to help local governments in rural communities keep their health, education and emergency programs functioning.
Duffy was among 100 members of Congress who sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urging them to locate funds to fill the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for fiscal year 2016 and beyond.
“The PILT program is essential to funding towns that provide services to the residents and visitors in communities with significant amounts of public land,” Mike Koles, executive director of Wisconsin Towns Association, said. “Due to the relatively low property tax base in these areas, revenue generation is limited. PILT complements what little can be generated through the property tax. Without the program, critical services like roads, fire and EMS would be negatively impacted.”
If congressional leaders do not take action, PILT funds will end on Sept. 20.
“We welcome this letter demonstrating overwhelming bipartisan support for the PILT program and the 62 percent of counties that have federal public lands within their boundaries,” Matthew Chase, executive director of the National Association of Counties, said. “We extend our thanks to Representatives Duffy, (Chris) Stewart (R-UT), (Jared) Polis (D-CO) and (Ann) Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), and their colleagues who joined them in this effort. We will continue to work with House and Senate leaders to ensure full, long-term funding for the PILT program and the many essential county services to federal public lands that it supports.”