Pittsburgh Promise Meets Funding Goal; UPMC Wary Of Possible New City Taxes

Updates Given On City's College Scholarship Program

POSTED: 12:33 pm EDT July 1, 2009
UPDATED: 5:55 pm EDT July 1, 2009

PITTSBURGH -- Results of the first UPMC Pittsburgh Promise report card were announced on Wednesday, as members of its first class of students have just completed their freshman year of college.

The program's goal is to offer scholarships of up to $10,000 a year to qualified high school students. It met its yearly $15 million goal, plus more than $168,000 that can count toward next year.

Most of the money comes from foundations, the rest from corporations and individuals.

UPMC made clear on Wednesday that, no matter what, its commitment to continued funding for the Pittsburgh Promise is solid.

But WTAE Channel 4's Bob Mayo reported that if new taxes are levied on nonprofits in the city, there are some questions about the possible effect it could have on UPMC's contributions elsewhere.

"Certainly, the taxes and fees would have an impact on our ability to do charitable giving. We have been -- for over 10 years -- the single largest contributor to the city on a voluntary basis," said Robert Cindrich, a vice president with UPMC.

With City Council's approval of the new Act 47 plan for financial recovery, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will soon ask the state for power to impose Pittsburgh's payroll preparation tax on nonprofits in the city.

So far, voluntary payments to the city from nonprofits fall far short of Act 47, which hopes for $6 million a year. Nonprofits committed to a total of just $1.6 million next year.

"We are still the largest contributor to that fund, by far, so, but if you're asking the question if we pay taxes somewhere else, how much money are we going to have left over for charity? It's obviously going to be reduced," Cindrich said.

Ravenstahl will also consider city surcharges on hospital admissions.

"I don't know what they mean, how much, and whether that gets passed on to the patient," Cindrich said. "If it does, it just imposes a hardship on a patient who already has a hardship. They already have co-pays and deductibles."

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