The Impact of Nonprofit, Large Landowners on Public Finance in a Fiscally Distressed Municipality (Working Paper)

A Case Study of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Author(s): Deitrick, Sabina and Christopher Briem
Publication Date: December 2007

28 pages; Inventory ID WP07SD1; English


The Impact of Nonprofit, Large Landowners on Public Finance in a Fiscally Distressed Municipality	760 KB

Abstract

In 2004, the City of Pittsburgh became an Act 47 distressed community under Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Financial Recovery Act. This law placed the City in quasi-bankruptcy with state oversight for fiscal policy. Pittsburgh has faced 60 years of declining population and limited means to expand revenues. The largest and fastest growing employers in the city are in health care and education, both property tax-exempt sectors. What is the role of large tax-exempt landowners on the fiscal capacity of Pittsburgh? How do these landowners affect fiscal structure in the face of the city’s current crisis?