October 4, 2001 | Read Time: 1 minute
The city of Montpelier, Vt., is joining a growing list of local governments seeking revenue from tax-exempt groups, asking the city’s nonprofit groups to chip in a “voluntary” property-tax payment.
Mayor Chuck Karparis sent a letter recently to all of the city’s nonprofit groups that said Montpelier is struggling with one of the highest property-tax rates in the state. “Among the reasons: a very high service demand and an unusually high percentage of tax-exempt properties,” he wrote. He asked groups — including churches, colleges, veterans’ groups, and nursing homes — to pay $1.39 for every $100 worth of tax-exempt property they own, the same rate as the property tax rate the town assesses for municipal services. Property owners also pay an additional $1.88 per $100 of property to support the town’s school system, “for which we are not asking consideration from you,” he wrote.
Mr. Karparis pointed out in the letter that the city provides fire, police, and emergency medical services to charities, as well as keeping the streets free of snow and maintaining sidewalks. In addition, he noted, Montpelier will give $207,000 to 30 community programs this year.
Katherine Long, public policy coordinator for the Vermont Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, said that nonprofit groups are tax-exempt because they provide services to Montpelier and other communities where they are located. “We would hope that local governments recognize that,” she said.
Other localities also have recently sought money from charities within their borders. The city of Baltimore this spring planned to impose an energy tax on its nonprofit groups, but charities there negotiated a voluntary payment in lieu of the tax (The Chronicle, June 28). Officials in Minnesota and Colorado have also considered imposing taxes on nonprofit groups.
