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BOSTON - Monday,
June 14, 2021 - Mayor Kim Janey today announced the City of Boston will be
creating and launching a Task Force to revisit and modernize the current
voluntary Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) payment program for Boston’s
charitable institutions. Its initial charge will be to improve and
strengthen the Community Benefits component of the PILOT program.
The City of Boston
has one of the nation’s leading PILOT programs, which seeks cash
contributions from academic, medical and cultural institutions that own
real estate otherwise exempt from property taxes. This program offers
tax-exempt institutions an opportunity to voluntarily support basic City
services and other important programs in acknowledgement of the unique
relationship between the City and its major nonprofits. PILOT contributions
go into the City’s general fund, the source for City expenditures,
including education, snow removal, street repair, fire, and police. The
PILOT program includes potential credits for Community Benefits, which
allow institutions to offset a portion of their cash payment by
demonstrating and documenting ways they support the City and its residents
through their charitable missions. The City currently caps the Community
Benefits credit to reflect the City’s operational needs for vital City
services to all residents.
“I am launching the
2021 PILOT Task Force as part of my commitment to lead an equitable
recovery in the City of Boston,” said Mayor Janey. “New voices and new
frameworks create new opportunities to make our city stronger. Our response
to the COVID-19 pandemic exemplifies the importance of City partnerships
with community organizations and institutions to serve residents and ensure
a recovery and renewal that includes all of our communities.”
The 2021 PILOT Task
Force will include institutional partners, elected officials, community
advocates, labor leaders, and residents. As a collective, the City of
Boston and the Task Force will be charged with revisiting the existing
program, and developing ideas to address the shared needs of Boston
residents, incorporate community voices, strengthen partnerships between
the City and its institutions, and examine the Community Benefits credit.
The City of Boston will formally launch and convene the Task Force in the
summer of 2021 with anticipated meetings through the fall and winter.
Under the framework
established by the 2010 PILOT Task Force, Community Benefits must be within the
following parameters to qualify:
·
Directly
benefit City of Boston residents.
·
Support
the City’s mission and priorities with the idea in mind that the City would
support such an initiative in its budget if the institution did not provide
it.
·
Emphasize
ways in which the City and the institution can collaborate to address
shared goals.
·
Services
should be quantifiable.
·
The
City must be consistent and transparent in its approach so that
institutions can plan appropriately.
Examples of PILOT
Community Benefits programs specifically named by the 2010 PILOT Task Force
include academic scholarships, job training initiatives, and programs
that address health disparities, along with many others.
In FY20, 37
institutions submitted PILOT Community Benefits reports totalling $153.2
million and received $52.9 million in Community Benefits credit.
Institutions partnered with over 530 local organizations to implement these
programs citywide. To learn more about the FY20 PILOT Community Benefits, a
summary of the program can be found here. | 
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