NEW: Brown Students Call on University to Pay More to City
Friday, March 09, 2012
Brown University students today delivered over 600 signatures to University administrators in an effort to show student, faculty, and staff support for greater financial contributions and a deeper commitment to the city of Providence.
The petition calls on the University to “contribute an amount no less than that which was originally agreed to by President Simmons and the Mayor.”
“Based on conversations with my fellow students in the past two weeks, it is clear that the Brown student body wants the University to step up and provide greater support for the city. From their experiences as volunteers in the city, many students recognize that children, public employees, and others have already sacrificed tremendously in the last few years. Now, they want to Brown to do their part,” said student Benjamin Wofford.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBrown and the City of Providence have been in negotiations for over a year about increasing the University’s payment in lieu of taxes. In early January, talks fell apart when the Brown Corporation refused to pass part of an agreement in which the University would pay an additional four million dollars per year to the City, of which half would be earmarked for the Providence public schools and half for taxes on land in the newly-opened I-95 corridor.
