By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent
Juab County Commissioners renewed the county’s commitment to continue to support Robert K Weidner, Washington Representative at Rural Public Lands County Council, as an important voice for Utah in Washington D.C.
“He advocates for us in Congress,” said Clinton Painter, commission chairman. “He advocates for us to continue to receive Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT).”
He said that the Rural Public Land Council (RPLCC) was requesting that the county sign the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding). Those funds were a large part of the county budget and, without them, the county would not be able to pay for many of the services it provides.
“He has made great efforts in Washington D.C. on Juab County’s behalf and has significantly increased PILT funding. The 2026 annual dues for Public Land Environment and Natural Resources work done by Weidner on behalf of Juab County in Washington D.C. for 2026 is $15,000,” said Painter.
He said that each county was billed according to a formula. Since Juab was a smaller populated county, Juab paid less. Some counties paid much more to keep Weidner in Washington D.C.
The U.S. Department of the Interior computes payments using a formula based on eligible federal acreage, local population limits, and other federal revenue-sharing programs.
PILT are federal funds given to local governments to help replace lost property tax revenue from nontaxable federal lands within their borders.
“Local governments cannot collect property taxes on federally owned areas like national parks, forests and wildlife refuges,” Painter said.
Counties use the PILT annual funds to pay for police protection, firefighting, road construction, public schools and search-and-rescue operations.
Over 1,900 local governments across 49 states and U.S. territories rely on this support because large portions of their land base are off-limits to local taxation.
PILT is historically subject to congressional appropriations rather than permanent mandatory spending, which can create budgeting uncertainties for rural counties, said Painter.
Lobbyist Weidner is the head of a Washington lobbying group, the Rural Public Lands County Council.
The group, based in Washington, represents about 20 rural counties in Utah and others in Washington state and Nevada.
The county received a request from the RPLCC executive committee encouraging Juab County to renew and approve the MOU with them for the continued use of Weidner.
Rural counties, such as Juab County and Sanpete County and various affiliates, routinely review and renew Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) or agreements for representation and D.C. advocacy regarding public land policies through representative Weidner.
The council and its affiliates coordinate with broader entities like the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Utah Association of Counties (UAC) to monitor federal legislation affecting PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes), Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding, and natural resource revenue sharing on federally managed public lands.
“PILT is a good portion of our budget,” said Painter.
Marty Palmer, commissioner, made the motion to approve the MOU with RPLCC to continue the service of Weidner. Marvin Kenison, commissioner, made the second and all voted in favor.
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