Municipal governments push for Tufts to pay 'fair share' of expenses

An initiative to make Tufts pay for the municipal services it uses in Medford has reached a standstill, but Somerville may becoming interested in making Tufts contribute to its strained budget.

At a March meeting of the Medford City Council, Councilman Michael Marks proposed that the University pay the city $1,171,779, a figure he based on a combination of residential and commerical property tax rates. However, the issue has not been brought up at any subsequent meetings.

The University is reluctant to pay extra fees and according to President Larry Bacow, no direct negotiations are taking place.

It is not uncommon for non-profit organizations, which are not tax liable, to make voluntary payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) to the communities where they reside, as compensation for municipal services. According to Marks, Tufts poses a heavy burden on the city's police and fire services and there is the worry that with looming state budget cuts to cities, including $1.4 million for Medford, there could be a decline in services if Tufts doesn't start to pay its "fair share."

Although Tufts has its own police force, Medford police are sometimes used and Tufts relies completely on the Medford Fire Department. In the four-year period from 1999 to 2002, Medford Police responded to 155 calls at Tufts and the fire department responded to 355 calls.

While hard to measure, the costs of these services are significant, particularly for the fire department, officials say. Each time a fire alarm goes off in a Tufts building, three engines and a ladder truck are sent to the scene.

Marks considers $75 per student to be "a fair and accurate assessment" of what the University would pay if it was assessed by regular residential and corporate tax rates. The city, however, cannot force Tufts to pay anything.

Barbara Rubel, the University's director of community relations, feels that the PILOTs issue may come up with Somerville soon. This is currently only a Medford issue "just because that's who's raised it at that point," she said.

While Somerville has not yet proposed a tax dialogue with the University, Chief Assessor Richard M. Brescia would like the possibility to be considered in the future. Brescia says that with the state budget cuts, the University "is not in as bad a position as we are."

Brescia says that Tufts occupies 3.3 percent of the city land, or almost four million square feet. If Tufts were to pay the same 25 cent per square foot rate that Harvard University pays the city of Cambridge, the University's payment would amount to almost $1 million.

According to Rubel, the University is reluctant to pay PILOTs simply because it cannot afford the extra costs. She said that if PILOTs were negotiated, the cost would be passed directly on to students.

Tufts is also reluctant to make the payments because of the number of communities it borders. "If we created a PILOT in one community, we'd have to do the same everywhere," said Rubel. This would mean that paying PILOTs to one city would require paying four. In addition to the Medford/Somerville campus, Tufts' also maintains graduate school campuses in Boston and Grafton. There is one dorm on each of the secondary campuses.

University officials also dispute the amount of strain Tufts puts on surrounding communities.

Rubel also said that if Tufts' property was residential, it would actually cost the city more, as the city would have to provide extra schools for those additional residents. "Here we have 75 acres of land that may not generate property taxes, but it doesn't generate costs either," she said.

Tufts does pay for building permits, water, sewers, and streets.

Bacow said that Tufts contributes to surrounding cities through community outreach programs, such as the recent construction of a playground in Somerville.

Rubel said that Tufts helps Medford schools and employs 350 residents. "Tufts makes contributions whenever asked," she said.