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Rehder is appointed
The National Association of Counties’ (NACo) President Valerie Brown recently appointed Idaho County Commissioner Jim Rehder to serve on NACo’s Public Lands Steering Committee. 
The Public Lands Steering Committee advises the NACo Board of Directors and general membership on all NACo policy matters relating to federally owned public lands, including tax immunity problems, shared natural resource payments, payments in lieu of taxes, and federal land management programs. “NACo is pleased that Commissioner Rehder will be lending his talents and perspectives on critical public lands issues as a member of the Public Lands Steering Committee,” said Brown, Supervisor, Sonoma County, Calif. "Working for the reauthor-izations of Secure Rural Schools (SRS) in 2011 and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) in 2012 are the highest priorities for me in the next 2 year to maintain our schools, roads and county emergency services. Commissioner Rehder worked with a group to achieve the extension of SRS in 2007 and then the 4 yr. reauthorization where funding in Idaho County was increased from $5.5 million for roads and schools to over $10 million. “In the absence of timber harvest, the Federal Government must allow counties to realize revenue off the public lands within our borders. This new formula corrects many of the inequities of the original SRS Act." Rehder said. The group was also successful in gaining “full funding’ of PILT through 2012 where Idaho County realized an increase from $950,000 to $1.45 million. Rehder just returned from the NACo Legislative conference in Washington DC where he urged Idaho’s congressional delegation and other congressional officials to support continued funding for rural counties from these land programs. |
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