The leaders of Brown University, RISD, Johnson and Wales, and Providence College have agreed to a new payment plan with the city of Providence, Mayor Brett Smiley announced in a press conference today.
In lieu of paying property taxes on their non-commercial properties, the private colleges have agreed on a voluntary set amount of money to pay the city over a 20-year-period. And, in a first for an agreement like this, the schools have also agreed to make non-cash contributions to the city. Finally, as stipulated by a new state law, the schools will also soon begin paying compulsory taxes on their commercial properties for the first time. Previously, they paid the amounts voluntarily.
Providence has had a non-tax payment agreement with these four colleges going back two decades. This new agreement, which must first be approved by the city council before it can go into effect, is expected to generate $223,472,813 over 20 years, which is more than double the amount of the previous 20 years ($94,006,384).
These so-called PILOT agreements (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) are common between universities and cities. In Providence, most hospitals have the same agreement with the city. So far, the Smiley administration says only one entity involved in a PILOT agreement, Lifespan, has ever neglected to pay its voluntary contribution to the city.
Under a separate agreement also announced today, the city has also proposed transferring five blocks of land, between Ship Street and South Street in the Jewelry District, to Brown University. Brown already owns all the buildings in that area, and this would transfer street services such as snow plowing and trash removal to Brown’s jurisdiction. This plan must first be approved by the Providence City Plan Commission under next year’s comprehensive plan.
Brown University President Christina Paxson in a press conference Tuesday would not say whether she would commit to keeping the area open for public use for walking or driving.
“We are committed to working with the city and with the community,” she said. “As we develop plans to use that land, we don’t have any immediate plans at all. And you know, especially in the Jewelry District, we approach this very collaboratively with the local organizations, and we intend to continue to do that.”
Paxson also said she couldn’t say more about Brown’s plan to make non-cash contributions to the community. The city provided a list of possibilities including: “Services provided by the institutions in lieu of city services, voluntary contributions to and financial support of K-12 education, including the Providence Public School District, public charter schools serving City of providence residents, and nonprofit organizations supporting K-12 education, Voluntary contributions or public safety personnel staffing and dedicated space and facilities provided for exclusive use of the City.”
Spokespeople for the city said there was not yet a plan for quantifying and tracking these contributions.
City Council President Rachel Miller also spoke at the press conference. She said she supported the plan and was involved in formulating it, along with three other council members. She applauded the added financial contributions from the universities under the new agreement.
“There is a financial cost associated with being home to top institutions,“ she said. “This agreement sets up a new era of contributions to the city.”
Miller said the agreement is likely to be referred first to the financial committee and then go to a vote in October.
Metro reporter Olivia Ebertz can be reached at olivia@thepublicsradio.org. Follow her on Twitter @OliviaEbertz.
A clarification: A previous version of this article stated that Brown will pay commercial property taxes for the first time. They will pay compulsory taxes for the first time. Previously they paid the taxes voluntarily.
