DATE: Tuesday, April 29, 1997               TAG: 9704290245

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   27 lines

WILDLIFE REFUGE SHARES REVENUE WITH CITIES

The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge has delivered a check for nearly $100,000 to Chesapeake to compensate the city for land within its boundaries that the city cannot tax.

Local governments routinely collect money from federal parks, buildings and property in their jurisdiction as part of a revenue-sharing program. The amounts vary from year to year.

The refuge's payment comes from a pool of money raised by U.S. wildlife refuges through fees and from an allocation by Congress.

Last year, the city received $110,000 in revenue-sharing from the refuge.

The city does target the money for specific purposes, said Iris A. Hoskie, the city's interim budget director. This year's $99,291 is not even 1 percent of the $434.3 million operating budget. ``We give them the money with no strings attached and no indication on how they should spend it whatsoever,'' said Lloyd Culp, the refuge's manager.

Suffolk and three counties in North Carolina also will receive payments for their portion of land that lies within the park boundaries. Suffolk will get $76,984; Pasquotank County, N.C., $8,967; Gates County, N.C., $21,880; and Camden County, N.C., $22,184.

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