Craig Daily Press
December 16, 2011, Joe Moylan

U.S. Congressman Scott Tipton, R-Colo., issued a letter Nov. 30 supporting efforts by western Colorado counties to maintain control of payment-in-lieu-of-taxes and federal mineral lease money. The letter comes on the heels of an October correspondence to Colorado Counties, Inc. from Ken Salazar, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, challenging the autonomy of Federal Mineral Lease Districts set up by many Colorado counties in an effort to safeguard dwindling PILT payments. “PILT was created to bridge the revenue gap many western counties face as the result of having large expanses of un-taxable federal lands,” Tipton wrote in the letter. “PILT is already historically under funded and rural communities have felt a tighter budget crunch than many areas.” To assist Colorado counties in maximizing federal mineral lease funds and PILT payments, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law earlier this year Colorado House Bill 11-1218, also known as the Federal Mineral Lease Districts Act....

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