FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Leyla Adali, 1199SEIU
leyla.adali@1199.org, 443-900-0904
With Us For Us Coalition Blasts City’s Backroom Agreement with Wealthy Tax-Exempt Institutions Regarding Payments to Support City Services
Legislation is still needed to ensure transparency in future agreements
OCTOBER 1, 2025 – The With Us For Us Baltimore Coalition strongly opposes Baltimore city officials’ emerging backroom payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) deal with Johns Hopkins University and other wealthy private tax-exempt hospitals and universities.
WUFU is disappointed that Mayor Scott has negotiated a deal in private with the wealthiest private institutions in the city, with no involvement from workers, residents, or the city council. This backdoor deal would lead to small increases in institutions’ PILOT payments. But even with those marginal increases, there will be a $205 million gap over five years between what the institutions pay and the value of the services they use.
The WUFU Baltimore Coalition mounted a major grassroots advocacy campaign to push for a transparent process for negotiating future PILOT payments, using rallies, broad coalition meetings, neighborhood canvassing, social media, and phone banking.
The pressure from WUFU Baltimore was responsible for the marginal increases in PILOT payments these institutions have agreed to pay, but they still fall far short of what is fair. The new agreement pales in comparison to those of New Haven, Conn., which negotiated a $135 million deal over 6 years, and Boston, which received $35.7 million from its institutions in 2023 alone.
In 2016, Baltimore City’s 14 wealthiest tax-exempt hospitals and universities signed a PILOT agreement without public awareness. It stipulated that institutions pay $6 million annually towards city services, a fraction of the $47 million they use in services annually. That PILOT agreement expires in June 2026, and the new deal is comparably opaque.
WUFU Baltimore calls on the Baltimore City Council to push forward and pass legislation establishing a fair and transparent process for negotiating PILOT agreements in the future to ensure that the city’s private hospitals and universities contribute adequately. The Fair Share PILOT Taskforce bill 25-0036, which is pending in the Council, would establish a balanced group with community residents, union workers, institution representatives, and City elected officials who would work on a fair standardized formula to determine recommendations for the next PILOT agreement.
The Baltimore City Council must push forward with this legislation and establish a fair and transparent process for negotiating these payment agreements in the future. No more backroom deals; it’s time for the people to have a seat at the table and make sure these wealthy private institutions fully pay for the city services they receive. Baltimore residents must pay for their city services, and we must ensure that private hospitals and universities do the same.
The With Us For Us Baltimore Coalition brings together community leaders, union members, and policy experts determined to ensure that the city’s wealthiest tax-exempt hospitals and universities pay their fair share for the city services they use.