PORTLAND – Hundreds of nonprofit organizations in Portland could be contacted by the city in the future about making payments in lieu of property taxes, to support public services.

The City Council’s Finance Committee directed the city staff Thursday to develop a proposal for contacting the owners of nearly 1,300 properties that are tax-exempt.

The proposal must go to the City Council for review before any outreach can begin. Councilors said it could take years to establish a successful program for payments in lieu of taxes.

Councilors indicated that Portland’s program could be modeled after one that has been adopted by Boston.

“I think what Boston did makes all kinds of sense,” said Councilor John Anton, chairman of the Finance Committee.

Finance Director Ellen Sanborn said Boston’s program has proven to be successful. She said most of its payments come from nonprofit hospitals and universities.

Fourteen nonprofit groups now make payments to Portland in lieu of taxes — totaling just over $623,000 in fiscal year 2010-11. The city collects $140 million each year in property taxes.

The largest contributor is ecomaine, the nonprofit waste management company that is owned and operated by 21 municipalities in southern Maine. Ecomaine makes an annual payment of $357,000.

Anton said the city has not met with or contacted any of the nonprofits since 2003, when Portland mailed form letters suggesting amounts to cover the cost of essential services such as police and fire protection and snow plowing.

Anton said a “more personalized approach” to contacting those organizations makes sense now, especially since Portland has its first full-time mayor.

He said he believes that Mayor Michael Brennan has the communication skills and political power to engage nonprofits in a discussion about their participation in a so-called PILOT program.

“A lot of this is going to come down to diplomacy,” Anton said.

Portland has no formal policy regarding payments in lieu of taxes, Sanborn said in a letter to the Finance Committee. Boston formed a task force in 2009 to study the relationship between the city and its tax-exempt institutions.

Boston’s program doesn’t require nonprofits to participate. It does set guidelines and payment formulas for those that do, and exempts small nonprofits.

Massachusetts General Hospital will make a $3.5 million payment in lieu of taxes to Boston this fiscal year, while Boston University will pay $5.3 million.

Smaller institutions such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Museum of Fine Arts will pay significantly less — $78,983 and $56,316, respectively.

“I’d like to see this happen, with the expectation that it could take several years,” Anton said.

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com