Dept. of the Interior Program Helps Counties with Federal Lands, Installations
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today announced that 72 counties in Mississippi with tax-exempt, federal property will receive $2.32 million in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) payments for 2020.
The U.S. Department of the Interior issues the PILT payments to counties, with local officials retaining authority to allocate the funds that can be used to support public safety, public schools, social services, or infrastructure.
“While Mississippians appreciate that the federal government doesn’t own vast tracks property in our state like it does in other states, Mississippi is proudly home to national forests, wildlife refuges, and military installations. These qualify host counties for welcomed PILT funds to offset revenues lost from hosting tax-exempt federal property,” Hyde-Smith said.
Hyde-Smith serves on the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the PILT program.
The largest FY2020 PILT payments for Mississippi include $255,000 to Lafayette County, $191,955 to Yalobusha County, $143,896 to Pike County, $129,000 to Grenada County, $124,147 to Sharkey County, and $102,897 to Wayne County. At complete list of the PILT payments to Mississippi is available here and below.
PILT payments are issued annually for tax-exempt federal lands administered by Interior Department agencies, including the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The payments also account for lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service, as well as federal water projects and some military installations. Awards are made on a formula based on population, revenue-sharing payments, and the amount of federal land in a county.
COUNTY PAYMENT TOTAL ACRES
- ADAMS COUNTY $6,267 15,679
- ALCORN COUNTY $526 46
- AMITE COUNTY $14,273 35,709
- ATTALA COUNTY $6,968 2,464
- BENTON COUNTY $45,338 55,411
- BOLIVAR COUNTY $16,942 5,991
- CALHOUN COUNTY $46,438 16,422
- CHICKASAW COUNTY $22,114 27,091
- CHOCTAW COUNTY $13,581 12,919
- CLAIBORNE COUNTY $7,062 2,497
- CLAY COUNTY $9,544 3,375
- COAHOMA COUNTY $4,109 1,453
- COPIAH COUNTY $2,977 7,448
- COVINGTON COUNTY $116 41
- DE SOTO COUNTY $49,739 17,589
- FORREST COUNTY $55,853 50,964
- FRANKLIN COUNTY $38,750 96,950
- GEORGE COUNTY $3,515 8,794
- GREENE COUNTY $13,311 33,303
- GRENADA COUNTY $129,453 45,778
- HARRISON COUNTY $63,105 64,530
- HINDS COUNTY $3,216 1,137
- HOLMES COUNTY $2,678 947
- HUMPHREYS COUNTY $12,412 4,389
- ISSAQUENA COUNTY $36,052 12,749
- ITAWAMBA COUNTY $58,977 20,856
- JACKSON COUNTY $72,949 37,700
- JASPER COUNTY $11,074 17,517
- JEFFERSON COUNTY $4,275 10,696
- JONES COUNTY $40,406 32,980
- KEMPER COUNTY $1,258 445
- LAFAYETTE COUNTY $255,000 103,110
- LAUDERDALE COUNTY $30,272 10,705
- LEAKE COUNTY $4,617 1,633
- LEE COUNTY $6,439 2,277
- LEFLORE COUNTY $7,186 2,541
- LINCOLN COUNTY $3,166 7,920
- LOWNDES COUNTY $22,337 7,899
- MADISON COUNTY $8,837 3,125
- MARSHALL COUNTY $84,399 41,277
- MONROE COUNTY $67,292 23,796
- MONTGOMERY COUNTY $340 120
- NESHOBA COUNTY $19,144 6,770
- NEWTON COUNTY $3,437 4,023
- NOXUBEE COUNTY $113 40
- OKTIBBEHA COUNTY $110 117
- PANOLA COUNTY $79,067 27,960
- PEARL RIVER COUNTY $4,257 4,037
- PERRY COUNTY $143,896 163,451
- PONTOTOC COUNTY $1,077 748
- PRENTISS COUNTY $15,185 5,370
- QUITMAN COUNTY $241 85
- RANKIN COUNTY $144 51
- SCOTT COUNTY $34,444 86,176
- SHARKEY COUNTY $124,147 67,293
- SMITH COUNTY $31,166 73,384
- STONE COUNTY $17,627 44,100
- SUNFLOWER COUNTY $1,836 649
- TALLAHATCHIE COUNTY $888 314
- TATE COUNTY $54,911 19,418
- TIPPAH COUNTY $14,053 9,664
- TISHOMINGO COUNTY $76,908 27,196
- TUNICA COUNTY $8,345 2,951
- UNION COUNTY $11,434 8,355
- WARREN COUNTY $11,223 3,840
- WASHINGTON COUNTY $17,546 6,205
- WAYNE COUNTY $102,897 90,348
- WEBSTER COUNTY $187 66
- WILKINSON COUNTY $8,984 22,477
- WINSTON COUNTY $25,786 28,849
- YALOBUSHA COUNTY $191,955 76,828
- YAZOO COUNTY $40,291 14,248
TOTAL $2,324,462 1,643,305
Magnolia Tribune
