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Show Commissioners Attend NACo Garfield County Chairman Tom Hatch and Commissioner Louise Liston will join more than 500 county officials from all parts of the country at the National Association of Counties' (NACo) Western Interstate Region (WIR) Conference Con-ference on May 12-15 in Maricopa County (Phoenix), Ariz. The conference will focus on issues important to counties in the 13 western states. The top issue to be discussed will be the authorization of increases in the Payments-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILT) program. PILT is targeted to rural communities with large amounts of federal, tax-exempt land. NACo is pushing the program as part of its overall package to stimulate the national economy. As chairman of NACo's Public Land Steering Committee, Liston has been actively involved in lobbying for the PILT program. ..so much so, that other members have dubbed her the "PILT lady." The conference will also feature workshops and meetings on the endangered species act, below cost timber sales, the impacts of reduced timber harvests on community stability and other county issues.. County Chairman Tom Hatch sits on NACo's Energy, Environment and Land Use Steering Committee. In addition to public lands issues, the conference will also feature a roundtable discussion on municipal solid waste, as well as workshops on solid waste disposal, recyclying and water quality management. Garfield County Engineer Brian Bremner will also attend and has been asked to sit in on a panel discussion regarding RS2477 on Road Rights. The WIR will elect and install its officers at this conference and the NACo Board of Directors will also meet. |
