Welcome to Skagit County
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July 1, 2002 SKAGIT COUNTY RECEIVES $419,111 IN FEDERAL PILT FUNDS
SKAGIT COUNTY - On June 27, 2002, Skagit County was the recipient of a check for $419,111 in federal payment in-lieu of taxes (PILT) funds. These revenues are based on tax-exempt federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Parks Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and for federal water projects and some military installations. "Our PILT funding has increased steadily over the last several years," said Skagit County Commissioner Ted Anderson. " This year's total represents an almost 10% increase over last year. We estimated in our budget that we would only receive $375,000, so the extra $44,111.00 is a welcome surprise." Skagit County has 538,817 acres of federally owned lands that are tax exempt. The revenue from the federal government can be deposited into the General Fund to help offset government expenses for jurisdictional responsibilities on federal lands. "These funds are critical to local governments since they can be used as needed at the discretion of individual counties," said Anderson. Last week, Anderson participated in a "PILT Fly-In to Washington D.C. In two days, elected county officials from around the nation contacted every Congressional office and many of the Senate offices as well. "We really appreciate the support of our own state delegation. Senator Maria Cantwell is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 454 to establish a permanent allocation," said Anderson." History of PILT Funds Received by Skagit County
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