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The federal government’s Department of the Interior has released its annual Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding to a number of western states that have large, non-taxed federal land holdings.
New Mexico’s 33 counties received a total of $41,357, 054, of which Dona Ana County’s share is $3,334,673. Eddy County received the highest allocation at $3,735,551, while Quay County received only $5,077.
Dona Ana County’s manager of media and public communications, Catherine Zaharko, said the bulk of the funds will be used for road improvement projects, but allocations also will be targeted toward spay/neuter programs, food-resiliency services, child/youth violence-prevention services and the county’s annual contribution to the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance.
She said PILT funding has increased slightly each of the past three fiscal years, with the 2020 allocation up about $76,000 from 2019 and up $145,088 from what was received in 2018.
She said all revenue is appreciated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the county has yet to see whether gross-receipts tax revenue will see significant adverse effects in the long haul.
