Brown University to Pay Hometown $31.5 Million
Brown University to Pay Hometown $31.5 Million
Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has announced that it will pay $31.5 million over eleven years to help the city close a $22.5 million budget shortfall and avoid bankruptcy, the Associated Press reports.
Under the deal, which was reached Tuesday and still must be approved by the Providence City Council, the university will contribute an additional $3.9 million to the city this year on top of the $4 million it already contributes in the form of annual payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs); in return, the city will cede a few streets adjacent to campus to the university along with two hundred and fifty parking permits for Brown employees. Although the $31.5 million figure is lower than the $40 million over ten years the city originally had sought, it is more than the city's final request.
According to the AP — which notes that the university's tax bill would be $38 million a year if it paid taxes on all its property — the deal will help reduce pressure on other tax-exempt organizations in the region, which have been criticized for not contributing enough in voluntary payments to the cash-strapped city.
"In tough times everyone has to chip in a little bit," said House Speaker Gordon Fox (D-RI). "Brown stepped up to the plate."
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