Counties receive tax payments from WDFW‏

[jackelope]

WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov
LAND LINE NEWS NOTES

May 2010

Counties receive tax payments from WDFW

Last month WDFW completed annual payments to 31 of Washington’s 39 counties totaling $1,177,164.63 for Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and local assessments on WDFW-owned land.

The PILT totaled $845,121.74 to 14 counties covering 491,128.99 acres of WDFW-owned land. Assessments totaled $332,042.89 to 28 counties for weed control, fire protection, storm water control, irrigation, and other services provided by lake management districts and conservation districts.

WDFW is the only state agency that makes in-lieu tax payments on property it owns and manages.

Each county can either retain game violation fines and forfeitures collected by WDFW within the county, or elect to receive in lieu taxes on WDFW property of at least 100 contiguous acres. (PILT is not paid on department buildings, structures, facilities, game farms, fish hatcheries, tidelands, or public fishing areas of less than 100 acres.)

Most counties that have significant WDFW acreage choose to receive the in lieu payments. In most cases, the payments are equivalent to or more than counties would receive if the property was privately owned and held in open space classification for agriculture or forestry activities.

By state law (Revised Code of Washington 77.12.203), counties electing to collect PILT have their choice of three rates. They may collect an amount equal to that amount paid on similar parcels of private land held in open space tax classification, or counties may collect the greater of 70 cents per acre or the amount paid in 1984.

The table shown here lists the Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT), based on the number of acres eligible for PILT, and assessment payments that counties received from WDFW this year. Counties with WDFW acreage that are not listed or show no payment, have either not billed the agency for service assessments and/or have chosen to retain game violation fines rather than in lieu taxes. Variations in the taxes per listed acreages may indicate that not all acres are taxed and/or that not all are computed at the same rate. Assessments vary from county to county.

County  Pilt  Pilt
                           Acres  Assessments  Grand Total 
Adams  $2,291.00  1,047.00  $14,811.07  $16,500.49 
Asotin  $36,594.99  33,646.25  $0.00  $36,122.93 
Benton  $0.00   $3,437.59  $3,347.86 
Chelan  $51,004.81  26,549.62  $1,899.03  $20,595.75 
Clallam  $0.00   $2,362.10  $1,898.30 
Clark  $0.00   $8,882.80  $8,912.50 
Columbia  $7,889.28  11,270.38  $1,691.26  $9,465.89 
Cowlitz  $0.00   $800.76  $708.04 
Ferry  $6,781.33  6,866.13  $992.16  $7,773.49 
Franklin  $0.00   $904.69  $863.39 
Garfield  $4,853.98  6,934.26  $554.74  $5,393.12 
Grant  $37,443.16  39,076.00  $30,561.12  $66,747.67 
Grays Harbor  $7,264.14  3,248.00  $0.00  $7,264.14 
King  $0.00   $34,591.75  $26,287.28 
Kitsap  $0.00   $1,610.74  $1,553.24 
Kittitas  $130,800.80  170,115.89  $11,578.89  $140,000.31 
Klickitat  $21,906.21  13,805.29  $789.15  $22,695.36 
Lincoln  $13,535.41  19,339.50  $1,921.58  $15,456.99 
Mason  $0.00   $963.62  $475.00 
Okanogan  $410,342.73  71,415.33  $14,257.44  $96,442.23 
Pacific  $0.00   $988.40  $988.40 
Pend Orielle  $5,358.18  3,598.22  $0.00  $3,308.65 
Pierce  $0.00   $7,792.30  $7,561.07 
San Juan  $0.00   $27.05  $56.17 
Skagit  $0.00   $39,619.80  $39,127.03 
Snohomish  $0.00   $44,520.10  $41,458.79 
Spokane  $0.00   $1,556.56  $1,157.97 
Thurston  $0.00   $43,039.77  $40,581.98 
Walla Walla  $0.00   $12.00  $12.00 
Whatcom  $0.00   $1,161.26  $1,209.08 
Yakima  $109,055.72  84,217.12  $60,715.16  $161,384.69 
Totals  $845,121.74  491,128.99  $332,042.89  $1,177,164.63 

[WDFW-SUX]

I dont understand why they make payments on land that is basically a park...

[bobcat]

It doesn't seem right to me either. But I'm sure there's some reason for it that we don't understand.

[luvtohnt]

Putting money into smaller government means more work will come of the same amount of money.

Brandon

[bearpaw]

WDFW keeps buying land. That is land that is on the tax rolls of the counties. Everytime a gov agency converts land to public ownership it takes away from the tax base of a county, small population counties rely on tax base for keeping up roads etc. This is a big issue in eastern WA.

I suspicion that they are having to make deals to not remove the land from the tax roles or they wouldn't get to purchase it.

[bobcat]

I understand that part of it. What I don't get is how they can afford to pay out that amount of money every year, for land that isn't bringing in any revenue.

[Hangfire]

Now you know where some of your license money goes. Wildlife habitat, and area's to hunt, brings in money in the form of licenses sold, in addition to being public land.

I became aware of the tax payment or fine money in the 60's.  I was told that was part of the agency going back to at, or near, it's origin in the early 30's.  There was feeling that the purchase of the public access on lakes, would break the agency, back when those originated.

F & W owning some land, even though a drop in the bucket, keeps something for wildlife.

[luvtohnt]

Maybe this is were the money from the new permit system is going to go. I know from my job that when 80-90% of the property in your county is tax exempt it makes it very difficult to generate any kind of budget for maintaining roads, weed control, and fire suppression. I know that after meeting with the LT Murray manager that they had to make a lot of promises about the Skookumchuck (sp) purchase in order for the commissioners to allow the land to be transferred and gain tax exempt status. It is hard because it is necessary on one hand, but we all hate having to pay out more money. I guess it could be a win/lose or a lose/lose situation depending on how you look at it.

Brandon