Wildfires underscore need for Congress to support county services
For several weeks, catastrophic wildfires have ripped through my home county, Chelan County, Wash., and dozens of other counties across the West. One of our neighbors, Okanogan County, experienced the loss of three firefighters when the Twisp River Fire ignited. It has been heartbreaking to see our friends, families, neighbors and coworkers suffer from the loss of life and property.
As of Sept. 1, the Chelan Complex Fire and Wolverine Fire have burned a combined 157,456 acres around my county. These two fires have consumed 39 homes and another 28 outbuildings. Although most of what has burned has been on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) managed lands, Chelan County will bear many of the costs of the fire now and into the future.
To respond to emergencies on and around federal public lands, counties provide critical resources and services. County first responders are working tirelessly to keep residents and visitors to our regions’ federal public lands safe during this terrible wildfire event. Our Sheriff’s Department has logged more than 2,646 hours of overtime working to ensure public safety.
Nationwide, counties own and maintain nearly 45 percent of all public roads. Many county roads and bridges provide access to federal public lands. The impacts of the fires burning today on federal lands will increase transportation and public safety infrastructure costs for my county for years to come.
Increased storm runoff from USFS lands will heighten the threats of mudslides, rock falls and erosion to county roads. When these occur, county road crews funded by county taxpayers will likely clean up the mess. To date, Chelan County has lost over $150,000 worth of public safety communications equipment to fire. That says nothing of the present and future economic impacts on tourism, which has been at 30 percent of normal levels since the fires erupted.
Demands for county resources that support federal public lands often far outpace what our local property tax base can sustain. Counties alone cannot maintain infrastructure, fire protection, emergency medical care, law enforcement and many other services to keep ourresidents and federal lands visitors safe. That’s why we need the federal Payments in Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, program.
The PILT program provides funding to counties and other local governments to offset forgone tax revenues on federal land within their boundaries. Sixty-two percent of the nation’s counties have federal public lands, including Chelan County, where federal lands make up 78 percent of the county. Local governments cannot tax the property values or products derived from these lands, yet we still pay for services to support them.
This year, Chelan County received $2.4 million through the PILT program to help fund road maintenance, public health, environmental compliance, law enforcement and other services. The payments are indispensable, representing roughly 7.5 percent of our general fund budget and allowing us to provide a safe environment for our residents and visitors.
The federal government generates about $14 billion annually from commercial activities such as timber harvesting, oil and gas leasing and livestock grazing on federal public lands. The PILT program uses a small portion of this revenue to help local governments continue to provide essential services.
For 2015, Congress authorized full discretionary funding of $442 million for PILT. Without mandatory full funding, PILT will remain a discretionary program – subject to the annual appropriations process – and could fall back to pre-2008 funding levels when counties received 65 percent or less of necessary funding for PILT, dealing a major blow to local services.
Without Congressional action guaranteeing mandatory full funding for PILT for Fiscal Year 2016 and beyond, communities across the country could face devastating budget shortfalls affecting public safety, infrastructure and other local government functions that all Americans rely on.
This week, county officials from across the nation will gather on Capitol Hill to advocate for full funding of the PILT program, with many more county officials engaging in advocacy efforts in their home counties. Before its authorization expires at the end of this month, we are urging Congress to support a full investment in the PILT program for FY 2016 and permanent funding for the future.
The devastating wildfires are just one example that demonstrates the need for the PILT program. Without this program, many of the public safety, transportation infrastructure and other critical services counties provide would not be possible.
Author: Ron Walter
Chairman - Chelan County, Board of Commissioners and the National Association of Counties Public Lands Steering Committee.
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The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
PLEASE NOTE: FTP browsing is no longer supported on the latest browsers, please refer below to acccess our FTP content.
Popular Browsers
Supported
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NO
Google Chrome
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YES
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The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
PLEASE NOTE: FTP browsing is no longer supported on the latest browsers, please refer below to acccess our FTP content.
Popular Browsers
Supported
Microsoft Edge
NO
Google Chrome
NO
Safari
NO
Internet Explorer 11
YES
Mozilla Firefox
YES
Opera
YES
By clicking continue, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this disclaimer.
The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
By clicking continue, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this disclaimer.
The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
By clicking continue, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this disclaimer.
The Canvassing Board of Chelan County, pursuant to RCW 29A.60.160, will hold public meetings at the dates and times listed below. The meetings of the Canvassing Board are open, public meetings under the applicable provisions of chapter 42.30 RCW, and each meeting shall be continued until the activity for which the meeting is held has been completed.