Providence to hold public hearing on proposed PILOT agreement
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and the City Council will host a public hearing Tuesday night regarding the PILOT proposal with Brown University, Johnson and Wales, Rhode Island School of Design, and Providence College.
Smiley encouraged the people of Providence to make their voices heard as this agreement is long-term — 20 years.
“If passed by the City Council, this will be the most generous agreement by colleges and a host community in the country,” Smiley told ABC 6 News.
The agreement would see the four tax-exempt higher education institutions to voluntarily pay the city a combined total of $223.4 million over the next 20 years.
Some wonder why the mayor and the city are planning out the agreement instead of just having the colleges pay taxes.
Smiley explained, “We have a bi-law tax-exemption. We are not able to send them a tax bill. This is true in cities across the country, it is not just providence. They are property tax-exempt. These institutions are legally exempt from property taxes.”
“The only way to get close to something fair is through negotiation,” he said. “The city might see contributions if the proposed agreement is passed.”
Smiley told ABC 6 he felt positive the city council will approve the proposed agreement.
“We are committed to quantifying contributions given to our city-scholarships given to providence students, making improvements to the providence downtown district or many programs that they support throughout the year. Every year now we will be reporting to the community in a transparent way what are the dollar value of these non-cash contributions institutions make to our city,” said Smiley.
“I am optimistic they are going to approve it. I don’t want to prejudge anything. I know there is going to people who say they should pay full taxes – that is just not an option,” concluded Smiley.
The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall in the council chamber. The meeting will also be available on Zoom.
