Minneapolis City Council — Transcript
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Program Feasibility and Implementation
Votes (2)
Presentation and discussion on payment in lie of taxes
Christina Kaiderling presented a detailed report on tax-exempt properties in Minneapolis, outlining ownership profiles, property values, and the concept of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT). She compared two models (Boston's routine annual payment and Providence's long-term contracts), discussed criticisms, and highlighted the University of Minnesota's unique status as a land-grant university. The discussion revolved around the voluntary nature of PILOT payments, the challenge of quantifying community benefits versus cash payments for the city budget, and the administrative commitment required for implementation. President Brandt raised concerns about ensuring direct city budgetary benefit from PILOTs rather than just community services, while Commissioner Payne noted that the justification for the request might be more of a 'narrative tool' given the voluntary nature of payments.
Consideration of a resolution authorizing a search for a new executive secretary
Moved by Commissioner Payne [0:56:06] · Seconded by Commissioner Olsen [0:56:10]
The item discussed the need to initiate a search for a new Executive Secretary following Christina Kaiderling's move to LRO. President Brandt emphasized the importance of moving quickly due to the historically lengthy process of filling this position. Commissioner Payne raised a question about waiting for VP Bernstein to discuss the budget implications and the auditor role, but President Brandt preferred to proceed with the resolution immediately.
Notable Quotes (7)
So pilot is a methodology where voluntary payment is made by a nonprofit entity to compensate for some or all of the property tax revenue lost due to their tax exempt status.
Pilot is typically low in revenue generation though with successful programs typically bringing in less than 1% of a municipality's total revenue.
More than 90% of all pilot revenue comes from eds and meds. So college payments are far more important than hospital payments with colleges contributing to about two-thirds of pilot payments and hospitals another quarter.
The thought is that these organizations have earned their status and to ask for a payment in le of tax is really to question that really to question their efforts in the community.
I'm asking you if there's a way to better align the um the services that nonprofits are willing to provide with what the city actually provides or needs.
I don't know that the additional complexity would necessarily net additional dollars based on how this model fold unfolds, right? We could just as well just model it off of Boston and say let's just use 25% as an arbitrary requested number and those institutions could just say how about zero or we agree.
I prefer to move ahead with this only because it was an ex took us an extraordinary long time to fill this position because we were reviving it after a period of of a dead period in the in the seat.
Ordinances & Resolutions (6)
Defines when a property is tax-exempt in Minnesota
City's legislative information management system
Tax ID status for charitable/educational organizations like Henipin Healthcare System Inc.
Negotiated agreements between Providence and tax-exempt organizations
Official action to begin the hiring process for a new Executive Secretary
Document used to put together job description for Executive Secretary