PILOT PAYMENTS LIGHT
PILOT (Payment in lieu of taxes) reform often moves to the fore as budget season rolls around. In Boston half of the land is tax exempt, which strains our municipal services. Voluntary PILOT payments are not collected at nearly the rate that they are asked. What can be done?
One idea that I hope gains traction centers around providing BPS students with more equitable opportunities for experiential learning at Boston’s many cultural institutions. The Museum of Science, The Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the New England Aquarium, and the Children’s Museum all refuse to pay the amount of money that the City of Boston requests. In fact, of the institutions mentioned above only the Museum of Fine Arts pays any of the CASH PILOT requested. The MFA was asked to pay $1,032,392 in CASH. They paid $68,920. All of these large institutions receive a substantial community benefit credit toward their PILOT payment – or lack thereof.
Teachers know first hand that field trips are not easy to facilitate. One of the major impediments is lack of transportation to and from these world renowned cultural meccas. Navigating and relying on the overstrained MBTA with multiple classes in order to get to a museum wastes school time, is unnecessarily cumbersome, and takes way from the time that we get to spend on location.
A PROPOSAL
I propose that these institutions buttress their community benefit by providing chartered buses to our schools. Doing so would encourage more equitable learning opportunities for BPS students. Students in the suburbs participate in many programs at these Boston institutions. It’s high time that these institutions that reside in our city start putting the kids who live in Boston first. How many Field Trips would the $1,401,965 that is owed by these five institutions provide? Better yet – have the rest of the non paying non profits chip in as well, maybe for some BTU teachers on assignment. If you live in Boston and agree call your elected representatives. Together we can be that change. In union there is strength.
Haven’t been here in a while.
Interested in hearing what our fellow educators think
Boston’s non-profit deadbeats can’t contribute fast enough to Boston’s Pilot Program as far as I’m concerned. When I think of all the fundraising I’ve done in the past just to get the $400. to hire a bus so I could take my BPS students to the MFA for a couple of hours for an unguided visit, that never included the guided tour with a related art-making activity that the students visiting from the suburbs always seemed to be on their way too. While my students were being given the bums rush by security past the gift shop! That guided tour and activity costs an additional $8 buck a kid! I just seethe, that should be included as part of any MFA field trip taken by Boston students.
The $68,920 the MFA “contributed” to Boston PILOT is chump change. The MFA has investments in Central America and the Caribbean that total $115,938,990! According to Boston’s Pilot, the MFA is worth $282,450,999, if taxable the MFA would pay $8,767,270. They were asked by Boston PILOT to contribute only 25% of what they would owe if they were for profit, $2,062,784. According to the MFA’s 2014, 990, their 3 parking lots nets $3,681,853, and their onsite food services net was $2,560,737! They paid the former Director Malcolm Rogers $1,500,263. and gave him an additional “housing allowance” of $62.500! Who knows what the MFA’s paying the new director.
As far as I’m concerned the MFA can stuff the “community benefits” credit and pay the $2,062,784. I’d really like to see the 501(c)3 law changed, to stop the MFA, and other large institutions, from hiding under the “non-profit” umbrella. I’d like them to pay what they would owe if they were for profit. In MFA’s case the full $8,767,270. Then the Boston Public Schools could buy the services we want from them, and not have to go begging hat in hand.
In regional school systems, there is no Ch. 70 money from the state for transportation, even though there is less/no public transportation. This idea could make a lot of sense outside of Boston too.
But to PILOT in general – Maine tried to experiment with a non-profit property tax rate – not sure if it happened. But it was a separate rate (like there is an agricultural rate) and it exempted the first $150,000 in assets so smaller organizations would pay nothing. Adjust that for property values in Maine vs. Mass., and you could have a neutral standard so large multi-million orgs would pay something but small and local would not. And I would continue to exempt excise tax on contents – imagine the bill on all those Old Masters at the MFA! But the real estate – especially real estate held for investment! – should pay a lower rate after the exemption.