For several weeks now, university officials and students have been pleading with Pittsburgh’s mayor to drop the 1% tuition tax that he had previously proposed. Apparently, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl had proposed taxing the tuition of college students and had been pushing hard to get the tax law passed by the end of the year. In a sudden change of heart, however, the mayor has decided to postpone the vote on his proposed bill.

“Over the last several days, thanks to your strength, conviction and support, we have made progress,” Mayor Luke Ravenstahl reportedly wrote in a letter to City Council members. “I feel that a one-week hold on this bill is an appropriate measure.”

The mayor went on to cite discussions with Pittsburgh’s nonprofit community as his primary reason for requesting the postponement. Furthermore, he expressed his hope that the 10 colleges and universities within the city will agree to voluntarily provide economic assistance to students in need. If the bill is approved, on the other hand, the tax that is imposed on students attending college in the state of Pittsburgh will go toward paying the pensions of retired city employees.

Other cities have been watching the saga in Pittsburgh closely as they consider taking similar measures to help fill the gaps in their budgets. College officials and students in Pittsburgh, however, have argued that passing the tax law would establish a bad precedent because it will change the tax-exempt status that is currently enjoyed by nonprofit organizations while also imposing an unfair burden on the educational institutions that are already making substantial contributions to the city.

“I don’t see this vote taking place next week because I think both sides are looking for a graceful and face-saving way to get out of the conflict,” said Doug Shields, who is the City Council president who is also opposed to the tax, in a New York Times article.

Shields went on to say that the mayor would likely remove the tax proposal from the table and that universities would likely agree to make some sort of payment while also assisting with lobbying the state to more effectively raise revenue for the city. Other Council members, however, feel the tax proposal may still come to fruition.

“There are still five strong votes backing the mayor’s tax if he has to go that way,” said Councilman Jim Motznik, who support the tax, in the aricle . “We don’t want to impose this tax on students, but what we are really talking about here is the cost of one extra textbook so that we can avoid raising property taxes or laying off a hundred cops.”

According to Mary Hines, who is the president of Carlow University as well as the chairwoman of the Pittsburgh Council of Higher Education, the universities will likely be willing to commit to a three-year voluntary payment program once the mayor removes the tax proposal from the table. Before volunteering their assistance, however, the universities would require the city to agree to work together toward developing budgetary strategies such as raising the service tax that is paid by city employees. Making these types of changes would require obtaining approval through the state legislature, which means the universities would have to work with the city in lobbying the state to make the change.

Clearly, both the city and the universities within the city have a vested interest in the proposed tax. Hopefully, they will find a way to work together in order to find a solution that works for everyone involved.