Senators Stabenow and Levin Announce Millions of Dollars in PILT Payments for Michigan Counties

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin today announced that Michigan counties will receive millions of dollars of support made possible through the bipartisan 2014 Farm Bill. The $4.6 million in federal Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) will offset the loss of property tax revenue from nontaxable federal property, such as National Forests.

"Thanks to the bipartisan Farm Bill passed earlier this year, communities across Michigan can count on this important funding to pay for roads, police and fire protection and other critical local services," Stabenow said. "This will help ensure the continuing partnership between our local communities and our National Forests and other federal lands that contribute so much to our Michigan way of life."

"Federal protection for national parks, forests and other federal land is important to Michigan's economy and the environment, and these payments allow us to protect these resources while reducing the financial burden on local communities," Levin said.

When Congress passed its spending bill last year, it did not include PILT, meaning communities across the country would not have been paid. Senator Stabenow's bipartisan 2014 Farm Bill included a one-year extension of PILT to ensure local communities in Michigan and across the country would get the payments they deserve.

Senator Levin voted for the Farm Bill and attended the ceremony when President Obama signed the 2014 Farm Bill in Michigan earlier this year.

Under the PILT Program, the Department of Interior reimburses county governments based on a formula that includes the amount of federal land within their boundaries and county population. Types of federal land used in the formula include national forest and national park land, Bureau of Land Management land and areas affected by Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation projects.

See below for the county-by-county breakdown of 2014 payments to Michigan counties:

County, PILT payment
Alcona County: $101,699
Alger County: $285,378
Baraga County: $70,139
Benzie Count0y: $21,545
Chippewa County: $264,587
Crawford County: $60,804
Delta County: $362,624
Gogebic County: $529,679
Houghton County: $297,246
Iosco County: $125,344
Iron County: $352,306
Keweenaw County: $338,782
Lake County: $174,556
Leelanau County: $113,368
Mackinac County: $88,446
Manistee County: $116,357
Marquette County: $39,572
Mason County: $107,664
Mecosta County: $2,586
Montcalm County: $3,530
Muskegon County: $28,206
Newaygo County: $123,167
Oceana County: $77,026
Ogemaw County: $2,127
Ontonagon County: $492,449
Oscoda County: $115,763
Schoolcraft County: $209,395
Wayne County: $3,075
Wexford County: $103,825
Total: $4,611,245