The land is called Harvard Forest and it is home to the Harvard School of Forestry, as well as the Fisher Museum and guided nature trails. According to Dale Bull, town secretary, Harvard pays taxes on four parcels of the land that have houses that the University rents out. Otherwise, the property is exempt from the tax rolls.
Bull tells GlobeSt.com that the town has been trying to contact Harvard for several years about the issue but the university has "ignored Petersham's correspondence. We were more forceful this year."
Kevin Casey, Harvard's senior director of federal and state relations, says that the university is prepared to discuss a voluntary payment for the property. "We do value the tax exemption," he tells GlobeSt.com, but we recognize that we're members of a community." Casey adds though, that the university does not envision paying the full property taxes.
In cities like Boston or Cambridge, where Harvard has property, the university has an agreement to make payments as they take a property off the tax rolls. Harvard has owned this land for nearly 100 years, says Casey, so they are not creating a new situation or causing the community to suddenly lose revenue. "But," Casey notes, "we understand the community is constrained and we will see what we can come up with."
It is unclear whether the state legislature will approve the legislation forcing Harvard to pay taxes on the land. As Casey points out, it is complicated to force one non-profit entity to pay taxes without forcing others. "In other instances, legislation has not moved on these petitions," he says.
Harvard faced a similar situation recently in Watertown where it bought a large chunk of commercial land. Watertown also filed legislation to force the university to pay taxes on the land--a huge part of the town's tax base--but the legislature is holding off on a decision, waiting for Harvard to work out an agreement with the town. Casey says that Harvard has been engaged in negotiations with Watertown about a payment for the past several months. "We feel an obligation to pay something," he says. "It would be a major imposition on the town and we need to come up with an agreement that's commensurate with that."
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