Albany Nonprofits Signal Backing for Payments to City
October 11, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
Some of the largest nonprofit organizations in Albany, N.Y., appear ready to support a formalized program of voluntary payments in lieu of property taxes, according to The Times Union.
A commission charged with studying the issue issued a draft report recommending that Albany follow the models of Boston and Providence, R.I., in crafting so-called Pilot plans to offset the cost of providing public services to tax-exempt entities. Top officials from the College of Saint Rose, Albany Medical Center, and the city’s Roman Catholic diocese served on the panel.
The study does not offer a detailed proposal for payments but marks a symbolic step in the yearslong debate on the issue in New York’s capital, the Albany newspaper says. More than half of the city’s $11.7-billion tax base is not taxable, although state and other government property makes up most of that subset.
