Counties paid $30M for tax-exempt federal lands

By Bill Lucia

Washington State Standard

Washington’s counties will share close to $30 million in payments this year from the U.S. government to compensate them for untaxable federal land within their boundaries. This does not include American Indians lands held in trust by the Department of the Interior.

The Interior Department last week announced $621.2 million in Payments in Lieu of Taxes for state and local governments nationwide. How much each place receives depends on the number of acres of federal land in the jurisdiction and its population.

Skagit County will receive almost $1.6 million for 535,839 acres, the sixth largest payment in Washington. The 535,839 acres are the seventh most acreage for a county in the state, with 370,559 acres managed by the U.S. Forest Service, 69%, and 165,052 acres of National Park Service ­property, 31%. The payment averages $2.92 per acre.

“These funds are critical to the vast majority of our counties,” said Derek Young, interim executive director for the Washington State Association of Counties. He added that the importance of the money varies depending on how much federal acreage a county has and other factors.

“In some cases, it makes up a significant chunk of their general fund because they can’t collect property taxes on those lands,” Young said. 

He noted that between 60% and 80% of most Washington counties’ operating budgets are supported by property taxes, so when tens of thousands of acres are off the rolls it can be a hit.

For example, Chelan County has almost 1.5 million acres covered by the PILT program. The county received the state’s largest payment – $3.9 million.

The 2024 budget plan Chelan County commissioners approved in December included $56.9 million in projected spending but also called for tapping reserves to cover a $2.6 million gap.

Other larger PILT recipients in Washington include Okanogan County ($3.3 million), Whatcom County ($2.4 million), and Jefferson County ($1.9 million) The smallest payment was to Thurston County – $1,520.

Overall, payments to counties in Washington will total $29.6 million. In 2023, the payments totaled $27.1 million

The payments are for land held by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service and Army Corps of Engineers.

First published July 5, 2024. Copyright 2024 Washington State Standard. Reprinted with permission. For the list of Washington counties receiving funding, see washingtonstatestandard.com. Story supplemented by Weekly News research.