This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

They're called "payments in lieu of taxes," and for decades they have been part of the contract between the federal government and the counties with federal lands that produce no property taxes. These "PILT" payments have built roads, hired police officers and otherwise helped every county in Utah meet the needs of its citizens, including many who work for the federal government.

So, in the super-heated political environment that is pushing politicians in Utah and elsewhere to claim those federal lands for their states, why would the feds be sending signals that PILT payments may go away? That only plays into the hands of those who think the federal government is a poor steward.

PILT money is awarded through a complicated formula that looks at how many federal acres are in each county, and then factors in other payments received from other federal sources.

That formula has generally been a winning one for Utah, which will receive nearly $38 million in 2014. Only California will get more. (Interestingly, Nevada, which has 20 million more federal acres than Utah, and is the only state with a higher percentage of federal land ownership, will receive $12 million less than Utah.)

Over the past 10 years, Utah has received more than $320 million, and it's money that can go to any governmental purpose, including roads, police and other services. It has few of those strings the feds like to attach to their payments.

Every county in Utah will get PILT money this year, ranging from $3.2 million for Iron County to $33,964 in Morgan County. For some counties, it's lifeblood. Wayne County's $475,554 will be almost a fifth of the county's general fund.

County officials from Utah were in Washington this week to lobby Congress to make a five-year commitment to PILT instead of making the counties live with the inconsistent yearly budget process. Those officials were coy, of course. Given their druthers, they said, they'd rather have the federal lands than wait for PILT money that may or may not come.

The federal government doesn't owe that land to the counties, but it does owe them a consistent commitment. Reducing that commitment only strengthens the perception of a distant and uncaring U.S. government.