Montana's senators push for federal funding for rural areas

Montana’s John Tester and John Walsh joined 32 other senators, both Republican and Democrat, in calling for full funding of two federal programs that could add millions of dollars to Lincoln County’s budget this year and thereafter.

If the funding levels match previous years, the county could see an unbudgeted influx of between $2 million and $2.5 million for the school system and around $600,000 for discretionary use.

The two programs, Secure Rural Schools and Payment In Lieu of Taxes, are intended to provide federal financial assistance to rural counties that suffer adverse tax base impacts from federal ownership of land in the county. This money is not guaranteed annually, as it requires congressional appropriation each year.

Secure Rural Schools has provided in excess of $11.5 million to Lincoln County schools since 2010, although the annual amount has been steadily decreasing. The amount is based upon a formula that includes the number of students in the school system and the amount of land in the county owned by the federal government. The SRS payment to Lincoln County last budget year, which ran from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, was $2.74 million.

For the current fiscal year, the county budget anticipated payment of just $334,338. That figure, according to Lincoln County Clerk/Recorder Tammy Lauer, is a percentage of timber receipts paid to the U.S. Forest Service. That payment, Forest Reserve Act funding, is the normal funding mechanism for county schools, but is replaced by the Secure Rural Schools money in the event it is authorized by Congress. Last year the county planned for the worst, budgeting $491,411 from Forest Reserve. During the fiscal year, however, Congress reauthorized Secure Rural Schools funding which resulted in a payment of $2.74 million.

Payment In Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, funds are determined by the number of federally owned acres in the county. Last year the county was paid $628,135 by the federal government, up from $580,059 in the previous year. No PILT funds were expected during this fiscal year. Lauer said the county was informed by federal officials that the money would likely be unavailable this year.

A spokesman for Sen. Tester said the senator is committed to the full funding of both programs and that he anticipates it will pass through both houses of Congress. The letter, sent to Sens. Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, was signed by 34 senators and covers a broad spectrum of both geography and ideology.

Congress will need to consider some type of funding bill by Dec. 11 in order to avoid a repeat of the 2013 government shutdown. Should the spending bill not include these funds, “the senator is prepared to use any available vehicle to get those funds approved,” Tester’s spokesman said.

Bill Bischoff, the executive assistant to the county commissioners, explained that the county doesn’t plan on PILT funds, as they are not appropriated by Congress in advance.

Lauer agreed. “It wouldn’t be responsible,” she said, “to plan on money that wasn’t guaranteed to be there.”

The county puts PILT funding into a reserve discretionary account, what Lauer described as a “rainy day” fund. They use it for unexpected and unbudgeted expenses. The account has a balance of nearly $2 million as of Nov. 25. Based upon the trends of recent years, the next PILT payment from the federal government could be between $650,000 and $700,000.

Lauer said the county typically receives the federal funds in February. The county’s budget was cut to $14.4 million for this year, down nearly $900,000 from the year before. Continued economic recession and declining projected revenues, coupled with the county’s need to repay several years of over-taxation, will put increased pressure on the coming year’s budget.

County Commissioner-elect Mark Peck expressed his concerns about the county budget in an earlier conversation with The Western News. “There’s no question we will have to cut unless something drastically turns around,” Peck said. “Most of the fluff is already gone.”

While the money has significant positive impacts for the county budget, Lauer explained that she would prefer a different option.

“It’s like a welfare payment,” she said. “I, and I think the majority of Lincoln County residents, would rather pay our own way.”

Both Lauer and Bischoff said they would rather see federal environmental regulations eased. Those regulations, they argued, limit the timber and mining industries and create unnecessary economic hardship for the county.