Small Town News
Politics of PILT only for other places
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CopyOver the last two weeks, federal legislators have made considerable noise over a proposed delay in payment to counties of PILT funds, money the federal government pays to counties in lieu of taxes.
Republican Rep. Doc Hastings last week berated the executive branch for dragging its feet on the payments. This week, Sen. Maria Cantwell is crowing about the Interior Department's decision to expedite the payments.
It is with a pained sense of irony that we can watch from the coulee as politics plays its part over funds that are unfairly out of reach of this community -- at least for now.
As local leaders have been trying to point out to Hastings, Cantwell, Sen. Patty Murray, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and any other member of the state's federal caucus who will listen, something like PILT is needed for this forsaken corner of the federal machine, which creates so much taxable wealth, all for other places.
The lack of a tax base, due to the huge federal presence here, means the local school district can never gather enough support to build a much-needed new school on its own. The state will do its part, but the community is quite literally unable to muster enough tax value to pay the rest.
Even if Cantwell, Hastings and the others rally to the cause this time and find the community some pocket of federal money (about $29 million is needed), the problem will resurface decades in the future. One solution to prevent that may well be a change in the PILT law that would allow communities like Grand Coulee Dam (if indeed we are not unique) to put away PILT funds for such capital needs, and to make them available from federal projects like Grand Coulee Dam, which currently generates no funds under PILT.
In the meantime, one can watch the political fireworks over solutions meant only for other places.
Copyright 2010 The Star, Grand Coulee, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.
© 2011 The Star Grand Coulee, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.
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