News Now Blog

We get a lot of questions about PILT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes). This is a Federal program that started back in 1976. These are Federal payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to the existence of nontaxable Federal lands within their boundaries.

61% of counties have federal land within their boundaries. Even though they are not able to collect property tax on federal land, county governments must still provide essential services for their residents and those who visit these public lands each year. The PILT program provides payments to 1,900 counties and other local governments to offset the loss of tax revenues. In 2019 PILT payments totaled $514.7 million. The formula used to compute the payments is contained in the PILT Act and is based on population, revenue-sharing payments, and the amount of Federal land within an affected county.

In 2019 counties in Colorado received $39,908,985 for 23,697,989 acres of federal land. Fremont County has 455,300 acres of federal land, the payment for 2019 was just under $1.2 million. This money is used to supplement the budgets of the Road and Bridge Department, Sheriff Department and help the county provide essential services to our residents and those who visit these public lands.

Last week I was in Washington DC with Commissioners from 14 other Western States meeting with members of congress and their staff. We were there with NACo (National Association of Counties), founded in 1935. This association unites America’s 3069 county governments. NACo gives county officials a collective voice on national policy. While in DC we were there advocating for PILT to be funded long term or permanently. As we do our budgets for the next year we are uncertain if PILT will be funded. We encourage Congress to work on bi-partisan, sustainable and permanent PILT funding legislation. Counties in the Western States know the impacts of not receiving property tax on the federal property and these PILT payment help to lesson the worry of a tight budget. Although PILT touches 49 states many counties in Eastern States have little to no federal land so it is not important to those congressional representatives, therefore it is important for us to make our voices be heard.

One of the most effective points I can make as a County Commissioner is to show how state and federal policies affect local management and services. Standing up for the people of Fremont County and making sure our county has a voice.

Dwayne McFall

Fremont County Commissioner District 3

Although Fremont County continues to work on closing out year-end 2018, many exciting projects already are complete. Here is an update on just a few of those, including steps taken to preserve and protect the county’s assets.

The Phantom Canyon tunnel repair project is complete, using a $100,000 Department of Local Affairs grant and another $150,000 in county funds. One of the two tunnels on Phantom Canyon Road had structural damage, and without repair, the road eventually would have been closed to the many tourists and workers that drive it every day. Now it is reopen and once again seeing a steady stream of traffic.

A major reroofing project on the west end of the County Administration Building was completed last year. This was a massive undertaking, as it appeared to be the first actual complete renovation of the area in more than 50 years, instead of simply applying another new layer over the old. Workers removed multiple layers of old, deteriorated roofing materials before installing the new protective covering.

The County unveiled a brand-new, clean Web site at www.fremontco.com. Information technology technician Jon Grayson designed the new look to be attractive and user-friendly. In part because of his hard work on the project, Jon was named 2018 Fremont County Employee of the Year.

We created a new position of drainage maintenance equipment operator in our Department of Transportation to coordinate and resolve flooding issues. Prevention efforts included the construction of cross pans on County Road 132, CR45 and CR28. Culverts were installed on both CR45 and CR2 to also aid in directing water flow. Last year saw major flooding following heavy downpours, and county crews quickly cleared Chandler Creek drainage as well as Ninth Street and 15th Street following those floods.

Much work took place in 2018 at the Col. Leo S. Boson War Memorial Park near the Fremont County Airport. Workers installed additional gravel and a drip watering system. Dead trees were removed and new trees planted in their place. Another new interpretive panel also was placed to express gratitude to early donors to the park effort. And, an Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments mini-grant, plus a local match, allowed the county to install a shade structure over the In God We Trust “penny project,” to protect the fragile display from deteriorating in the strong Colorado sun. This spring, some native grasses will be planted and a thorough cleaning of the military displays will take place.

The year also saw serious grant money awarded to Fremont County.

The Hayden Pass Fire, ignited by lighting on July 8, 2016, burned about 16,000 acres of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Most of that fire remained on U.S. Forest Service Lands south of Coaldale. Subsequent heavy rains and flooding wiped out roads, driveways, a dam, access to homes, and at least one home itself. Roughly $3.5 million in recovery funds have been secured to mitigate the flooding issues there.

Fremont County secured a $600,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant over three years to assess land previously used for industrial or commercial uses, which may have been contaminated with hazardous waste or pollution. Once cleaned up, those areas can become host to new business development. The County currently is working with its partners, the City of Cañon City, the City of Florence, and Fremont Economic Development Corporation, to finalize members of a Community Advisory Committee that will help this major project move forward.

The County also secured $200,000 in an Underfunded Courthouse Grant to finish an official courtroom at the Judicial Building. We now are awaiting the results of additional grant requests to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Energy and Mineral Funds to finalize those renovation plans.

The Fremont County Commissioners will release the full 2018 Accountability Report next month. It will include much more detail from departments and other elected officials. That annual report, begun in 2013, is just one part of the county’s continued effort to keep our citizens informed and to hold ourselves to the highest standards in accountability, responsibility, and reliability.

Debbie Bell is the Fremont County Commissioner for District 2. She can be reached at debbie.bell@fremontco.com.

Many local folks are feeling the effects of a housing shortage, either not finding a place to rent or buy, or perhaps paying much more than they really can afford.

Fremont County recently partnered with Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments, the Cities of Cañon City and Florence, and a couple of other counties for a formal housing study that truly will tell the story of the types and income levels of housing that are needed here. The study will help attract and entice developers and contractors to build here, because they will have the professional proof that housing desperately is needed.

Even though we continue to see a housing shortage, if construction is any indication of a community’s wellbeing, Fremont County is seeing a slow but steady rise in its economic comfort and security.

Both building permits and construction use tax collections have been on a continuous upswing in the past few years. This year is not only looking good in comparison, but it promises to be the best year in the record books for quite some time.

In an effort to compare actual year-to-year, Fremont County Building Official Mike Cox did some research stretching back a few years for the numbers from January through July, since our latest numbers run through July 31 of this year.

In 2015, through July, the county issued 310 building permits, including 26 site-built dwellings. The valuation of all permits was about $10.5 million; site-built dwellings were valued at almost $6.5 million that year. In 2015 the county collected just over $376,000 in construction use tax.

The following year, in 2016, the county issued 339 total permits through July, including 29 site-built dwellings. The valuation of all permits was almost $11.4 million; site-built dwellings were valued at $6.8 million. And, in 2016, the county collected $389,000 in construction use tax.

Last year, 2017, the county issued more permits at 376 total through July, including 29 site-built dwellings. The valuation of all permits was down just a bit to $11.2 million; site-built dwellings were valued at $5.6 million. And construction use tax collected in 2017 was a whopping $525,078.

This year, through July, the county already has issued 440 total permits, including 39 site-built dwellings. The valuation of all permits is just under $12 million; site-built dwellings are valued at more than $7.2 million. Comparable information on construction use tax in 2018 is not yet available.

It is most interesting to note that the average valuation per dwelling, again January through July, also dropped steadily over these four years. In 2015 the average new home construction was $252,181; in 2016, $237,638; in 2017, $195,292; and in 2018, $185,477 – an almost $67,000 drop in just three years. This indicates the industry trend is toward more affordable housing, which may be a reflection of current consumer needs.

Commercial building permits are much more difficult to compare from year-to-year. For example, one commercial permit alone in 2015 was valued at more than $2.2 million while another, that same year, was $104,000.

However, it is interesting to note that in 2015, the county issued a total of 3 construction permits at a valuation of $2.3 million; in 2016, 24 permits at almost $3.8 million; in 2017, 16 permits at $1.6 million; and so far in 2018, 8 commercial permits at $441,000. Commercial permits range from museums to storage units to reroofing to cabins to toilets. It’s no wonder there is a major difference in year-to-year totals in that category.

As Commissioners, the slow-but-steady rise is the best scenario possible. While not indicative of a boom, which inevitably is followed by a bust, it means our community is building at a rate that is necessary, but sustainable. This is good news for all of us.

Debbie Bell is the Fremont County Commissioner for District 2. She can be reached at debbie.bell@fremontco.com.

Linda Smith, second from left, is recognized with a formal resolution for 30 years of dedicated service to Fremont County by Commissioners Dwayne McFall, Tim Payne, and Debbie Bell.

Three long-term Fremont County employees who are retiring received recognition in the form of official resolutions by the Board of County Commissioners during regular session on Dec. 26.

Department of Human Services Director Steve Clifton, DHS Agency Administrator Linda Smith, and Denise Miller all were recognized with a cumulative total of almost 80 years of work at Fremont County.

Clifton began work with Fremont County DHS on Feb. 1, 1994, and had almost 49 years of work and dedication to the field of human services. Smith, a valued employee since Oct. 1, 1987, provided the county with behind-the-scenes expertise in human services and its financial intricacies. Miller worked in various positions throughout the County, including at the Administration Building and at DHS, since Sept. 4, 1991, and retired from her final position at DHS.

All three were honored by the Commissioners for their decades of dedicated service and for making a difference in the lives of Fremont County citizens.

“Thank you,” said Board Chair Debbie Bell. “You will be missed.”

Clifton and Smith worked over the past year on completing a formal transition plan to provide a smooth and seamless shift when incoming Director Stacie Kwitek and her team officially take over on Jan. 1, 2018.