According to DOLA, the county government qualifies this year for $682,032 in severance tax distributions and $814.078 in federal mineral lease payments - a total of just under $1.5 million.

Last year, according to DOLA, the county received $446,687 in state severance tax distributions and $442,476 in federal mineral leasing payments - a total of $889,163.

"This additional money will certainly help ease the strains on the county General Fund and the Road and Bridge Funds," county administrator Susan Hansen said. Both of those major county funds have spent down cash reserves for two straight years to deal with declining revenue streams.

The county's fiscal policy is to budget for the current year one half of the amount of minerals payments received from the two sources the previous year. This conservative approach to fiscal management, explained Hansen, is necessary because the county never knows until late in the year how much it will receive from the funds. Though the amounts are paid annually they can vary widely. In Delta County the payments are allocated to the General fund and the Road and Bridge Fund.

Hansen said that county receipts form state severance tax and minerals leasing payments are usually spent on one-time major capital projects. Since the amounts are not consistent from year to year the money is not normally budgeted for ongoing expense items.

In addition to the county government, six local municipalities and School District 50 will share in the minerals payments.

The school district will receive $110,885 in severance tax payments. The county's municipalities will each receive combined payments from severance tax and minerals leasing in the following amounts, according to DOLA: Cedaredge $102,519; Crawford $28,870; Hotchkiss $65,557; Paonia $115,308; Orchard City $167,023; and City of Delta $392,608.

In an information release, DOLA said that 509 cities, counties and school districts will receive a record $80.4 million from the Severance Tax Fund and Federal Mineral Lease Fund. Last year a total of $32 million was distributed from the funds.

DOLA oversees the distribution of funds derived from energy and mineral extraction. New laws this year authorized a new method and formula to determine the direct distribution of energy impact dollars. These new factors, coupled with an increase in revenue generated by the industry, resulted in a record-high distribution amount.

Prior to passage of the new laws, direct distribution was based on the number of employees in the energy impacted communities in which they resided. Under these new laws, other factors are also considered, including: drilling permits, production, employee residence, as well as, for sub-county distribution, population and highway user miles. Last year's distribution amounted to $24.7 million from the Severance Tax Fund and $8 million from the Federal Mineral Lease Fund. With the new formula and increased production levels, the Severance Tax Fund provided $44.5 million and the Federal Mineral Lease Fund generated $35.9 million, this year DOLA said.

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