County to get higher federal land payment

Easing uncertainty about the effect of federal funding cuts, Jefferson County is set to get a 5% increase in its annual Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) this year, to $1.72 million.

The PILT program is a critical revenue source for many rural county governments, providing compensation for federally owned lands that otherwise pay no local taxes. Over half of the county’s 1659 square miles are owned by the U.S. government, most of that by the U.S. Forest Service.

The county’s PILT payment, which is based on federal acreage and adjusted for population and other factors, has increased steadily in recent years. The county received $307,704 in the year 2000, according to the Department of the Interior, which administers the program; Jefferson was paid $886,716 in 2010 and $1.3 million in 2020.