A coalition of leading labor and community organizations is protesting the use of tax breaks to stimulate development, saying the special financing appears to be undermining Baltimore City’s finances while leaving the needs of everyday residents unaddressed.

The protest comes amid news that the Baltimore Development Corporation met behind closed doors to extend a potential 95% property tax break to developer P. David Bramble’s MCB Real Estate for its planned Harborplace makeover at the city’s tourist waterfront.

Two news organizations – Baltimore Business Journal and Baltimore Brew – have filed a complaint about those meetings to the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board, alleging the BOE violated state law.

The letter to Mayor Brandon Scott and the Board of Estimates was signed by 18 organizations that have been working together as the With Us For Us (WUFU) coalition.

“We are wary that millions of dollars in tax discounts (from Payment in Lieu of Taxes and Tax Increment Financing agreements) over several decades have eroded the city’s revenue and made service delivery more challenging,” the letter says.

“If the city is to move forward with these deals, they must also contain a commitment for good, living wage jobs, housing affordability and public oversight.”

The letter adds to public sentiment against the sweeping nature of the Harborplace replacement project by MCB, which is seeking an estimated $400 million worth of public infrastructure building to supplement $500 million in private financing it has yet to secure.

Last week the Inner Harbor Coalition called on the mayor and City Council to stop the planned demolition of the two existing Harborplace pavilions “and assist in the exit or redirection of MCB’s grandiose and currently unfunded proposal.”

• Why the mayor and City Council should assist an MCB exit from Harborplace (9/14/26)

Additional Tax Deals

The WUFU letter cited two other tax deals that the BDC board has privately approved and now await approval by the Board of Estimates, whose three of five votes are controlled by the mayor.

One would make the University of Maryland’s proposed $300 million “college town” development near its campus on West Lexington Street eligible for a PILOT tax discount.

The second would establish a Crown Cork & Seal TIF (Tax Increment Financing) District between Highlandtown and Greektown to aid developer Bill Struever’s efforts to redevelop the former factory site into an upscale apartment and business complex.

WUFU’s Other Efforts

It’s not the first time the coalition has pushed against tax-break deals conferred to powerful actors behind closed doors.

Last year, WUFU pushed for anchor Baltimore’s tax-exempt nonprofits to pay more to help the city. The group met extensively with the Scott administration to come up with a system to mandate more significant payments as well as more review and accountability from these so-called anchor institutions.

They ended up disappointed by the deal worked out quietly by Scott, then okayed by City Council President Zeke Cohen, who had initially supported their position.

• Board of Estimates okays PILOT agreement Scott hammered out with nonprofits behind closed doors (10/15/25)

Under the terms of the agreement, 14 tax-exempt universities and hospitals, the biggest of which is Johns Hopkins, agreed to make annual payments to the city to cover the cost of municipal services.

The yearly payments would start at $6 million this year and escalate to $12 million by 2030, for a total of $48 million over five years.

The mayor’s deal locked in payments that the With Us For Us coalition said fall short by $205 million from the value of city services the tax-exempt universities and hospitals would have to pay to make up for their use of city services over five years.

City Hall’s $48 million deal last year with tax-exempt universities and hospitals fell $205 million short, WUFU said.

The group had also hoped to hammer out a formula and process for obtaining payments from these nonprofits.

Now the coalition members are asking the city to impose  the same kind of review and accountability for private companies potentially reaping tens of millions of dollars in tax reductions.

Full Text of WUFU Letter

Dear Mayor Scott and members of the Board of Estimates:

We are the With Us, For Us Coalition, labor, and community organizations, writing to you with concerns about the new RISE PILOT program offering long-term property tax discounts to jump start large downtown development projects in Baltimore city.

While we understand the need to initiate a downtown revival, we are wary that millions of dollars in tax discounts (from Payment in Lieu of Taxes and Tax Increment Financing agreements) over several decades have eroded the city’s revenue and made service delivery more challenging. If the city is to move forward with these deals, they must also contain a commitment for good, living wage jobs, housing affordability, and public oversight.

We are concerned that the approval process of these new downtown PILOTs will get no city council input or public hearings. In fact, the recent announcement by the Baltimore Development Corporation’s approval of PILOTs for Harborplace and West Lexington (as well as the Crown Cork & Seal TIF District) came without any public meeting by BDC. The announcement also failed to specify the percentage of property tax discounts or duration of the agreement (pending Board of Estimates approval). Neither did the announcement mention any community benefits required of the developers. This comes on the backdrop of the City’s bond rating being downgraded due to “declining cash reserves and fund balances,” money these tax abatements impact.

We ask you to guarantee the Board of Estimates requires that the Harborplace and West Lexington projects – and each new PILOT moving forward – contain stipulations for jobs, community benefits, and proper oversight ensuring these agreements are kept.

● Any PILOT agreement made by the Board of Estimates must be public and heard before a public meeting. The financial details, prevailing wages, jobs creation, and amount of property taxes abated must be public with proper notice before any agreements are made.

● Any PILOT agreement made by the Board of Estimates should identify clear steps to
negotiate and include labor agreements, including project labor agreements, labor peace
agreements, and construction labor agreements.

● Any PILOT agreement negotiating tax abatements should consider variable payment
rates based on the profit thresholds for certain developments.

● Any PILOT agreement must include provisions to revoke or clawback abatements if the
terms of the agreement are not met.

● The City must create an oversight taskforce representing workers to provide oversight
and transparency regarding the PILOT agreements and these stipulations.

These PILOT deals made behind closed doors do not ensure these core goals. Our members
deserve a fully funded city government, where teachers, sanitation workers, and other
government workers have fair wages and benefits and city residents have a well working
infrastructure.

Sincerely,
AFSCME Maryland Council 3
Progressive Maryland
1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
UNITE HERE Local 7
Clean Water Action
Public Justice Center
Jews United for Justice
Maryland Center on Economic Policy
Baltimore Teachers Union
Baltimore/DC Building Trades Council
Metropolitan Baltimore Council of AFL-CIO Unions
Charm City Indivisible
Community Development Network of MD
Economic Action Maryland Fund
Maryland Catholic Labor Network
The SOS Fund
Baltimore Abolition Movement
Greater Baltimore Democratic Socialists of America