logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

In the Wake of the Princeton Ruling, Northampton, MA Votes in a PILOT

Larry Kaplan
November 23, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
Northampton
Northampton Massachusetts / 6SN7

November 19, 2015; Daily Hampshire Gazette

PILOTs—payments in lieu of taxes—are back, this time in the small city of Northampton in western Massachusetts. The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that city councilors, after little debate, voted unanimously to endorse the PILOTs, a proposal put forward by the mayor.

The program asks 10 of the city’s largest nonprofit, tax-exempt property owners to make voluntary contributions to city coffers. During the public debate over the proposal, advocates and opponents of the idea weighed in, including Smith College, which was in opposition.

The college is Northampton’s largest taxpayer and one of its largest employers. While its spokesperson said it is committed to working with the city, it questions whether PILOTs are the most appropriate approach, proposing a different voluntary contribution program with greater flexibility.

“I would leave the nonprofits alone and just expect the city to live within its means,” added the chairman of the local Republican organization.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Cities in the eastern U.S. often look to PILOTs to help them deal with the fiscal realities they confront—a need for new revenue in the face of declining state funding. Northampton is home to a number of large tax-exempt nonprofits, including Smith, a nationally renowned, independent women’s liberal arts college.

Northampton’s PILOT program exempts social service agencies, calls for a phasing in over five years and extends a community service credit to organizations which pay part of their PILOT obligation through in-kind services. Boston has a similar PILOT program.

These nonprofits point out that they are integral to the community and “provide an economically stabilizing effect.” But PILOT advocates say that the city provides them services in return.

Earlier in November, the same New Jersey judge that called nonprofit hospitals a “legal fiction” ruled that Princeton University has the burden of proof when it comes to its property tax exemption, a ruling that is likely to result in a settlement that increases its PILOT payments to the town quite significantly. As other hospitals and universities face the “whether” and “how much” questions of PILOT payments, this context should be taken into account.—Larry Kaplan

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Larry Kaplan

Larry Kaplan is a consultant based in Los Angeles. He describes himself as passionate about urban communities and social justice. He helps non-profit organizations leverage governmental and community relations to advocate for their causes, advance their missions, reach their fundraising goals and achieve their program objectives. He has built and maintained elected officials’ offices, managed political campaigns, helped public agencies increase their effectiveness, and advised private companies and associations on their philanthropic and civic responsibilities.

More about: colleges and universities payments in lieu of taxes property tax exemptionsNonprofit NewsPolicy

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn
The Human Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis Must Be Understood—And Acted Upon
Anmol Irfan
Black Americans Need Reparations: The Fight for the CTC Highlights the Roadblocks
Jhumpa Bhattacharya and Trevor Smith
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of Mutual Aid
Steve Dubb

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of...
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.