Rehberg (MT00) - Press Release - Rehberg Announces Federal Payments to Montana Counties

Congressman Denny Rehberg, 516 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515

N E W S


	June 23, 2005

Rehberg Announces Federal Payments to Montana Counties

WASHINGTON, DC - Montana's Congressman, Denny Rehberg (R), today announced the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management has released payments to counties in Montana totaling $17,188,322, authorized by the Payments-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILT) Act for fiscal year 2005. The annual payments are made to coincide with local governments whose fiscal years begin on July 1. The amount is up by nearly half a million over last year’s PILT.

“This annual payment is critical to Montana’s rural counties and communities, home to a substantial amount of federal acreage that simply cannot be used for local tax revenues,” Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said. “Many of our counties are forced to look elsewhere to make up for the local tax revenues needed to continue vital local services.“

In Montana, three counties will receive over a million dollars in payments, including Ravalli ($1,440,198), Lewis and Clark ($1,358,615), and Flathead ($1,352,815). Payments-In-Lieu-of-Taxes are authorized by Congress to compensate counties with substantial acreage of federal land. Statewide this year, Montana will receive about a 3% increase in PILT funds over last year’s amount, $16,681,936.

###

Press Release List