Congress bypasses funding for rural Montana

Montana counties stand to lose $20 million this year, with more than $2 million of that hitting the bottom line of Lincoln County.

Last year Lincoln County received $2.74 million from the federal government through the Secure Rural Schools program. Money for that program was cut from the federal spending bill passed by Congress last week, making it less likely that the county will receive that federal assistance this year.

The Secure Rural Schools program was created by Congress in 2000 as an attempt to compensate rural counties for the loss of tax revenue created by heavy federal property ownership. It expired in 2006, but has been renewed each year since – until now.

Lincoln County received 25 percent of the Kootenai National Forest’s timber receipts each year, but those receipts have been steadily dwindling. Secure Rural Schools was intended to offset the losses counties suffered due to declining receipts from natural resource use.

Tammy Lauer, Lincoln County’s clerk and recorder, said Secure Rural Schools has paid more than $11.5 million into the county’s coffers since 2010. Money from the program is deposited in the county’s road fund. That fund, said Lauer, had over $26 million in it when she took office eight years ago. Due to steadily decreasing payments, that fund’s balance is now just over $13 million.

Montana’s congressional delegation remains committed to the program. “Secure Rural Schools is critically important for communities in Lincoln County and all across Montana. I’m committed to continuing my work on this issue in the next Congress.”

Current representative and senator-elect Steve Daines joined with 34 other members of the House in sending a letter to Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi about the issue. “As you know, for more than 100 years, the Forest Service has shared 25 percent of timber revenues with rural counties to compensate them for federal ownership of lands, which cannot be taxed at the local level. Counties and school districts rely on these funds to help support critical services, including education and infrastructure projects. While timber harvest levels have dropped over the last two decades, Congress has recognized the need to live up to its obligations and continue to support these districts….We urge you to work quickly, in a bipartisan fashion, to reauthorize, fund and make payments under SRS as early as possible in the next Congress ensuring that local governments across the country can access these essential funds.”

Montana’s newest congressman, representative-elect Ryan Zinke also expressed his support for the funding. “I am dedicated to moving Montana forward by strengthening the economy of rural Montana and reestablishing funding for SRS. Economic revitalization is not a single step process, though; we must also be working to fix the greater problem of mismanaged federal land that is keeping local communities from responsibly managing their natural resources.”

Secure Rural Schools is considered to be a mandatory spending program. Under House and Senate rules, that means that any money appropriated for the program would require an equal amount in cuts from other federal expenditures.

The loss of Secure Rural Schools funding won’t impact Lincoln County as hard as it will others, however, because Lincoln County’s commissioners didn’t include the money in their budget for the coming fiscal year. Instead, the county budgeted for an influx of roughly $400,000, based upon United States Forest Service timber receipts. If the money comes, it will be a boon for the county, but if it doesn’t, additional cuts will not be required.

“It would be irresponsible of us to budget for money that we don’t know is coming,” said Lauer. “We put in the low number, and if we get the funding we put it back into the account.”

In an earlier conversation with The Western News Lauer explained that she would prefer a different option to the Secure Rural Schools program. “It’s like a welfare payment,” she said. “I, and I think the majority of Lincoln County residents, would rather pay our own way.”

Zinke expressed a similar sentiment. “Fixing the problem of mismanagement will allow rural communities to build healthy economies, full of opportunity and good-paying jobs in industries like timber, mining and energy that aren’t reliant on the federal government.”