Advocates press council to advance pilot to make tax‑exempt hospitals and universities pay 'fair share'

Residents, labor unions and advocacy groups urged the Baltimore City Council to advance a proposed Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) task force to recommend a more transparent, equitable approach to contributions from large tax‑exempt hospitals and universities.

Toby Dietz, who said he has lived in Baltimore since 1982 and works in academia, told the committee he supported a “fair, transparent, and actually substantively meaningful agreement in 2026” and called the current combined voluntary payments “a token sum.”

Nut graf: Multiple speakers noted an estimated gap between the value of city services used by anchor institutions and the voluntary payments they make; advocates asked the council to authorize a task force (cited in testimony as council bill 25‑36) to produce recommendations for a pilot payment process and greater transparency.

Homeowner and health‑care worker Andre Johnson said, “They use $47,000,000 in city services, but only pay $6,000,000 in pilot agreements,” and asked the council to pass bill 25‑0036 to form a task force whose recommendations would include labor and community participation. Lorraine Erekat of SEIU 1199 expressed similar support, arguing a fair pilot could close a significant share of the city’s $85 million shortfall. Multiple speakers, including Jose Alvarenga and David Schmidt, tied the PILOT demand to the need to preserve or expand youth and social services that face cuts.

Speakers urged the council to move the bill out of committee so negotiations can begin on a pilot that advisors, labor and community representatives would oversee. There was no committee vote at Taxpayers Night; speakers asked for action in the formal hearings and subsequent council votes.

Ending: Advocates asked that any task force or pilot be transparent and include community and labor representation; they signaled they will monitor committee action and return to council hearings to press for passage.