Ketchikan’s borough will receive about $1.1 million this year through the federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, program, distributed by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
That’s similar to last year’s local PILT, and is part of the nearly $29 million that will be distributed to communities throughout the state, according to an announcement today from Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office.
Prince of Wales Island communities also get a PILT, and will share just shy of a million dollars. That area has about 2.7 million acres of federal land. Ketchikan’s borough includes about 3 million acres of federal land.
The largest PILT for the state goes to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which will receive about $3.5 million for its approximately 3 million acres.
The PILT program is meant to help offset losses in property taxes due to nontaxable federal lands. Payments are based partly on how much federal land is within a municipality’s boundaries, and partly on the population of that community, according to the PILT website.
Murkowski’s announcement states that the PILT program is fully funded through next year.