An effort to secure P.I.L.O.T. payments from military entities in Worcester appears to be a new initiative being put for the Worcester Peace Works. Given the failure of the City Manager to implement a substantive P.I.L.O.T. program despite strong City Council nudging makes this effort difficult.

U.S. Military P.I.L.O.T. payments do exist already though in some fashion. According to the U.S. Army, "Military installations make a payment in lieu of taxes to the local jurisdictions where they are located to provide help for infrastructure use, schools, etc. that may be used by the service men and women living on the base." (http://eul.army.mil/faqs.htm) Similarly, the Department of the Interior is responsbile for operating a P.I.L.O.T. program to compensate communities for losses to their tax bases due to the existence of federally owned land.

WPW additionally reports that:

"The second part of the petition is to have the City Council go on record in favor of an immediate end to hostilities in Iraq as a means to reduce the wounded veterans and the tax burden on the City.

The petition is on the agenda for April 29, 2008. If you know a City Councillor please call them and to allow Worcester PeaceWorks to speak on the petition and to vote in favor of it. Also if you could come to the Tues. April 29,2008 , 7PM. meeting it would add strength to the petition.

This petition could open up a new discussion about how war adversely affects the economy, how the military is given no tax status, how the wounded and sick are not taken care of by the military. The recruiters should pay forward for the harm that they do to all of us."