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Home My WebLink AboutWORKSHOP Forest service 1 JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST TO: Board of County Commissioners FROM: Josh D. Peters, County Administrator Stacie Prada, Treasurer DATE: July 6, 2026 SUBJECT: WORKSHOP re: U.S. Forest Service selection form STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Periodically the Washington State Treasurer gives counties the option to change the distribution percentages for Title I, II, and III monies made available under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self- Determination Act (SRS). Jefferson County’s current allocation percentages, elected by the county last in 2023, are 85%, 13%, and 2% for Titles I, II, and III, respectively. SRS Current Min Max Distribution Title I 85% 80% 85% half to Fund 180 County Roads; half to Local School Districts Title II 13% 6% 20% USFS Olympic Peninsula Resource Advisory Committee (RAC): funds special projects on Federal Lands Title III 2% 0% 7% Fund 147: Federal Forest Title III fund 100% We have been asked to confirm our existing distribution percentages or choose another distribution scheme. Failure to do this by the deadline of July 20, 2026, would result in these monies being distributed using the following default percentages: 80% to Title 1 and 20% to be distributed between Titles II and III (most likely to Title II). An eligible county’s failure to make a payment election will result in a defaulted assignment to the State Payment (SRS) for that county. An eligible county’s failure to elect to allocate its share of the State Payment (SRS) shall be considered to have elected to expend 80 percent of the share for public schools and roads. The remaining 20 percent will be available to the Forest Service to carry out projects in the eligible county to further the purposes of Title II. The State Treasurer is also asking us to choose between the full SRS payment and our share of the State’s 24 percent payment based on the 7-year rolling average of annual receipts. ANALYSIS: The Secure Rural Schools Act and Community Self-Determination Act breaks payments into three distinct categories: 2 Title I – Roads & Schools Counties generally receive the majority of SRS funds under Title I, which is designated for the benefit of public schools and public roads. In years when the Act is reauthorized by Congress, Title I payments are made from the USDA Forest Service to states. States then distribute the payment to all eligible counties. The funds must be passed through to local governmental entities for use at the county level (but not necessarily to county governments themselves). Each state must spend the funds on road and school programs, and state law sets forth how the payments are to be allocated between road and school projects. State laws differ widely, generally ranging from 30% to 100% for school programs. Title II – Special Projects on Federal Lands Counties typically receive 20% or less of SRS funds under Title II, which are used by willing federal agencies, state and local governments, private and nonprofit entities, and landowners for protection, restoration and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, and other natural resource objectives on federal land and on non-federal land where projects would benefit these resources on federal land. Rather than being distributed to the state, Title II funds are retained by the Forest Service and are allocated to specific projects that have been reviewed and recommended by a local Resource Advisory Committee (RAC). Title III – County Projects Funds received under Title III are used to: • carry out activities under the Firewise Communities program • reimburse the participating county for search and rescue and other emergency services, including firefighting and law enforcement patrols • cover training costs and equipment purchases directly related to the emergency service • develop and carry out community wildfire protection plans • provide or expand access to broadband telecommunications services In years when the SRS is reauthorized by Congress, Title III payments are made from the Forest Service to states. States then distribute the payment to all eligible counties. Public Works relies heavily on the SRS Title I revenue, which has been steadily reduced over time. In past years, the county made up for some of these lost revenues by sharing Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) revenues received each year. Public Works recommends that the county keep the existing distribution percentages. Title II monies are retained by the Forest Service and are allocated for specific projects recommended by a local RAC. The bulk of Jefferson County Title III monies have been used to hire a consultant to help us prepare a countywide Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Remaining Title III funds will likely be devoted to buying search and rescue equipment. The current fund balance of Fund 147 is $43,449.74. Regarding which payment method to select, the State Treasurer has provided an Estimated Payment Report (attached), which clearly shows that using the Full SRS Payment Amount would be preferable to the 7-year Rolling Average Amount. Our average SRS payment from 2018 through 2022 was about $382,000, much higher than the 7-year rolling average method. 3 Congress reauthorized Secure Rural Schools payments through FY 2026, including retroactive payments for FY 2024 and FY 2025. This means funds are authorized to be received by Jefferson County through 2027. Before it was reauthorized, payments were paid per the 1908 Act. Should the act not be reauthorized for 2027, counties would continue to be entitled to payments per the 1908 Act. Those payments reflect approximately 25% of the payment amounts to Title I we’ve received under the Secure Rural Schools program. Under the 1908 Act, no funds go to Title II or Title III. After reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025 (Public Law 119-58) on December 18, 2025, retroactive SRS payments for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 were distributed to states on February 20, 2026, and received by counties on March 6, 2026. Regular payments for FY 2025 were received by Jefferson County on April 30, 2026. FISCAL IMPACT: If the Board of County Commissioners approve staff's recommendation, this request will preserve the status quo and will have no fiscal impact. Should the Board choose to reduce the Title I distribution percentage, staff recommends consulting school districts, which receive 50% of Title I funds. Said school districts include Queets-Clearwater, Brinnon, Quilcene, Chimacum, and Port Townsend. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board approve maintaining the county’s current SRS distribution percentages, elect the Full SRS Payment Method, and authorize the County Treasurer to complete the “Election to Receive Payment and Allocate the State Payment Form” confirming their choices. REVIEWED BY: ______________________________________ ________________ Josh D. Peters, County Administrator Date 7/1/2026 Page 1 of 2 FY 2026 Forest Service Payment to States, Public Law 119-58 Election to Receive Payment Election to Allocate State Payment By August 1, 2026 (midnight, mountain time), please complete and return all pages of the election form to the U.S. Forest Service, Albuquerque Service Center, All Service Receipts (ASR) Section. By email: sm.fs.asc_asr@usda.gov A county’s election to receive a payment and to allocate the State payment must be transmitted by the Governor’s office or other appropriate executive office of the state such as State Treasurer, on behalf of the Governor. The Forest Service will not accept an election directly from a county or from any non-governmental organization acting on behalf of a county. Election to Receive Payment The State must transmit, for each county in which a national forest is situated, the county’s election to receive a share of the Secure Rural Schools Act (SRS) State payment or a share of the State’s 25-percent payment based on the 7-year rolling average annual receipts. The State may use the form to transmit county elections to the Forest Service. If the State fails to transmit a county’s election by the deadline of August 1, 2026 (midnight, mountain time), the county will be considered to have elected to receive a share of the State payment (SRS). Instructions for Submitting Elections The PDF election form contains interactive features that require Adobe Acrobat Reader. Viewing this document in an email preview, web browser, or mobile viewer will not allow access to the form. Please download the file and open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader to unlock and complete the form. In the election form (see attachment), each state and county name are already populated to assist in the preparation of the form. Estimated payment amounts for both SRS and 1908/25% payment amounts are also present to aid in the election between the two methods. These amounts are purely estimates and should not be used in a budget formulation at the State or County levels. In the Payment Election column, a drop-down field exists for each county to select either to receive the State’s 1908/25% PMT payment (the 7- year rolling average of national forest receipts) or a share of the Secure Rural Schools Act State payment select SRS. If the 1908/25% PMT is selected, then all other options for that county are locked out as there is no other information required. If a county that elects to receive a share of the Secure Rural Schools Act State payment, then further title allocations are required for the distribution of the payment. Rules governing the title allocations are mentioned below “Election to Allocate the State Payment” section. Those limitations are also hard coded into the election form to aid in the election process. Page 2 of 2 A second attachment is also available that displays each counties expired payment election and title allocation from the previous election. This report provides past historical election data that could aid in the current election process. Election to Allocate the State Payment Each county that elects to receive a share of the SRS State payment must make an additional election to allocate the State payment. The guidelines for making the allocation vary depending on the amount of the county share of the State payment. • $100,000 or less. (Minor distribution) An eligible county that elects to receive a share of the State payment that is $100,000 or less (a minor distribution) may elect to use 100-percent of its share for public roads and schools under Title I. A county that elects to receive a minor distribution must make an affirmative election to use the 100-percent of its share for Title I purposes. In the alternative, the county may opt to allocate 15-percent to 20-percent of its share to Title II, Title III , or a combination of both. The total percentage allocated to Title II and Title III combined must be no less than 15-percent and no greater than 20-percent. The county also may opt to return its allocation, in whole or part, to the Federal Government. • $100,001 to $349,999 (Moderate distribution) If the county share of the State payment is more than $100,000 but less than $350,000, the county must allocate 15-percent to 20- percent of its share to Title II, Title III, or a combination of both. The total percentage allocated to Title II and/or Title III must be no less than 15-percent and no greater than 20-percent. The county also may opt to return its allocation, in whole or part, to the Federal Government. • $350,000 or greater (Major distribution) If the county share of the State payment is $350,000 or greater, the county must allocate 15-percent to 20-percent of its share to Title II, Title III, or a combination of both, except that the allocation for Title III projects may not exceed 7-percent. The total percentage allocated to Title II and Title III combined must be no less than 15-percent and no greater than 20-percent. The county also may opt to return its allocation, in whole or part, to the Federal Government. To provide maximum flexibility, projects funded under Title II must be initiated (reviewed and recommended by a resource advisory committee) by September 30, 2028, and Title II funds must be obligated by September 30, 2029. In addition, projects funded under Title III must be initiated by September 30, 2028, and Title III funds must be obligated by September 30, 2029. An eligible county’s failure to make a payment election will result in a defaulted assignment to the State Payment (SRS) for that county. An eligible county’s failure to elect to allocate its share of the State Payment (SRS) shall be considered to have elected to expend 80-percent of the share for public schools and roads. The remaining 20-percent will be available to the Forest Service to carry out projects in the eligible county to further the purposes of Title II. For instructions on completing the election form, please view the attached written directions along with the accompanying training video link below. https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/secure-rural-schools/payments County Name Estimated SRS Payment Estimated 1908/25% Payment Payment Election: SRS or 1908/25% Payment Percent for Public Schools & Roads (Title I) Percent for Special Projects (Title II) Percent for County Funds (Title III) Percent to Return to U.S. Treasury Percent Total Election to Receive PaymentState:Title Allocation of the Secure Rural School Act Payment Percentage (number) in the columns below, not to exceed 100 total IMPORTANT: This PDF contains interactive features that require Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you are viewing this document in an email preview, web browser, or mobile viewer, download the file and open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader to complete the form. **MAKE SURE TO FILL OUT THE REQUIRED CONTACT INFORMATION ON PAGE 2 OF THIS ELECTION FORM PRIOR TO SUBMISSION. County Name Estimated SRS Payment Estimated 1908/25% Payment Payment Election: SRS or 1908/25% Payment Percent for Public Schools & Roads (Title I) Percent for Title II, Special Projects Percent for Title III, County Funds Percent to Return to U.S. Treasury Percent Total State:Election to Receive Payment Title Allocation of the Secure Rural School Act Payment Percentage (number) in the columns below, not to exceed 100 total **Required Contact Information** Preparer’s name and title: Preparer’s phone number: Preparer Signature: Preparer’s email: Fiscal Year: 2025 Run Date 05/12/26 Title Allocation Report PNF: NA State: Washington Cong.District NA WASHINGTON (53)Asotin (003)85.00 15.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Chelan (007)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Clallam (009)85.00 11.00 4.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Clark (011)100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Columbia (013)85.00 15.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Cowlitz (015)80.00 8.00 12.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Ferry (019)85.00 12.00 3.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Garfield (023)80.00 20.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Grays Harbor 80.00 13.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Jefferson (031)85.00 13.00 2.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Kittitas (037)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Klickitat (039)85.00 15.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Lewis (041)85.00 15.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Mason (045)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Okanogan (047)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Pend Oreille 85.00 15.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Pierce (053)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Skagit (057)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Skamania (059)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Snohomish (061)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Stevens (065)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Thurston (067)100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Whatcom (073)80.00 20.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)Yakima (077)85.00 8.00 7.00 0.00 0.00 WASHINGTON (53)King (033) WASHINGTON (53)Walla Walla (071) 1908 Act Election 1908 Act Election State County Title I (%)To Treasury (%) 25% 7 Year Rolling Average (1908) Title II (%)Title III (%)Failure to Elect (%)