Brown University, the Ivy League school whose endowment grew to $2.5 billion last year, may boost voluntary tax payments to Providence, R.I., after the city said it was nearing bankruptcy. Gov. Lincoln Chafee last week intervened to restart talks over the school's so-called payments in lieu of taxes after Mayor Angel Taveras said the city was about to run out of cash. While Brown is tax-exempt, it has been paying more than $1 million a year since 2003 when the city sought help after a recession. In May, Taveras sought a $5 million increase. Providence is seeking to emulate Boston, which is on pace to raise collections in lieu of taxes from Harvard University and other institutions by 25 percent to about $19 million this year, city documents show. Mayor Thomas M. Menino is trying to double the number of schools, hospitals and cultural institutions that pay by pressing more than 20 that gave nothing last year.
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