Tell Wealthy Institutions – Pay Your Fair Share!
Mayor Brandon Scott
Baltimore City is home to internationally known hospitals and academic centers.
But while we pay taxes, they don’t.
Baltimore City’s wealthiest tax-exempt hospitals and universities barely pay for city services that they use.
Each year, Baltimore City’s tax-exempt institutions use $47 million in city services, like roads, police and fire services, public transportation, and even snow removal.
Who pays for their share? We do.
In 2016, Baltimore City’s 14 wealthiest tax-exempt hospitals and universities signed a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreement behind closed doors that lets them pay only $6 million annually towards city services, instead of the $110 million they would pay in property taxes.
And it’s not like they can’t afford it.
Hopkins has an endowment of over $8 BILLION that is largely untaxed. And top employees at anchor institutions are often paid much more in compensation than their employers’ total PILOT payments to Baltimore City. Between 2016 and 2022, Johns Hopkins University alone paid just 1.20% of its revenue toward the PILOT Agreement, their payment to the city.
The people of Baltimore City deserve a PILOT agreement that is With Us and For Us!
Let’s open the door! The current PILOT agreement ends in 2026 so the time is NOW to create an open process that we all can participate in. Baltimore City needs more investment from the government and anchor institutions to truly be a part of our communities and invest in our cityWhat we are asking:The With Us For Us coalition is a coalition of community advocates, students, and labor unions, formed November 2023 and aims to hold our tax-exempt hospitals and universities in Baltimore City accountable to pay their fair share and generate revenue for what Baltimore residents need.
Since the last PILOT agreement was made behind closed doors, we are proposing a Baltimore City Fair Share PILOT Task force that includes community and labor stakeholders, representatives from the hospitals and universities, and representatives from the mayor and city council. This task force will recommend a formula that will be used to decide how much each institution should contribute in the 2026 PILOT Agreement.
Sign this petition to support the Baltimore City Fair Share PILOT Task Force legislation, and to make wealthy institutions pay their fair share!
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To:
Mayor Brandon Scott
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[Your Name]
Baltimore City needs a fair and transparent PILOT agreement with our hospitals and universities that includes community and workers at the table. Tax-exempt hospitals and universities use about $47 million in city services annually, which means Baltimore City is losing out on $41 million. Because Baltimore City relies on property taxes for half its revenue, this “tax loss” from the largest nonprofits means that the burden of financing public services falls solely on residents and local businesses.
We urge you to support the Fair Share PILOT Taskforce and it's recommendation to have predictable, transparent, and just revenue from our tax-exempt hospitals and universities in Baltimore City to fund needed city services.