The city of Pittsburgh says it will challenge the nonprofit tax-exempt status of about two dozen properties, including some owned by hospital systems and universities, with Mayor Ed Gainey saying he wants everyone to pay their fair share.Tax-exempt challenge in Pittsburgh: Watch the report in the video above.Parking lots, vacant lots, houses and office space are on the list of 26 parcels for which Gainey's office says the city will send a taxing jurisdiction exemption challenge to the Allegheny County Office of Property Assessments. (Scroll down to see the full list.)"Right now, over a third of our properties in the city are owned by Purely Public Charities. This is an issue of fairness and leadership. I believe I owe it to the people who call Pittsburgh home to carry out this important work," Gainey said Tuesday.According to the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, a Purely Public Charity must advance a charitable purpose, donate or render a portion of its services, benefit a substantial class of people who are legitimate subjects of charity, relieve the government of some of its burden and operate entirely free from a private profit motive. "We looked at the largest organizations that held the largest amount of property in the city first. We didn't realize until we kind of dove into this there were a lot of people on the list who are not charities at all," City Solicitor Krysia Kubiak said Tuesday.UPMC, University of Pittsburgh, Allegheny General Hospital and Carnegie Mellon University are among the parcels on the list released by the city Tuesday. There are also nine properties identified only as being owned by "private citizen.""The city believes that these owners do not meet the purely public charity test and/or the property does not serve a charitable purpose," the mayor's office said in a statement.In January, Gainey ordered a review of all tax-exempt properties in Pittsburgh to ensure that nonprofits and charities meet the requirements for such exemptions.So far, Gainey's office said the city's law and finance departments have reviewed 10% of exempt properties that are not government property nor owned by churches. The city hopes to finish its review by March 2024."With a third of our properties being tax-exempt, we need to make sure that we do this review to ensure that the ones that are living up to their obligations of being purely public charities, OK, but the ones that are not, they need to pay their fair share. We have a city to run," Gainey said.Properties that are being challenged by the city are listed below.174-S-225: 8033 Bennett Street RE LLC23-H-245: Allegheny General Hospital27-M-226: Carnegie Mellon University27-M-232: Carnegie Mellon University75-L-73: Community Options Inc.42-L-305: Karpeles Manuscript Library125-A-355: Private citizen24-E-206: Private citizen46-P-251: Private citizen6-S-157: Private citizen36-J-92: Private citizen27-N-95-2: University of Pittsburgh28-G-110-2: Presbyterian University Health System (UPMC)28-G-110-3: Presbyterian University Health System28-G-110-5: Presbyterian University Health System28-G-110-6: Presbyterian University Health System28-G-110-7: Presbyterian University Health System28-G-110-8: Presbyterian University Health System94-E-112: Private citizen184-F-48: Mr. Property LLC23-S-146: Private citizen24-E-205: Private citizen91-R-56: Private citizen22-H-92: School Facility Development80-K-159: NCSC USA Housing Development Corporation84-H-60: Village of Shadyside Community Association"(We) didn't challenge Propel. We challenged the school development association, which is a separate nonprofit that owns the property. Quite frankly, we don't believe owning the property satisfies the Purely Public Charity test," said Kubiak."The next step is for the Office of Property Assessments to review our challenges and make a determination. We hope they will move expeditiously to make them pay," Gainey said in his statement.Jen Gula, director of the city's finance department, said the Allegheny County Office of Property Assessment will schedule a hearing that both parties will be invited to so they can present their evidence. The court will rule one way or the other, then parties will have the right to appeal within 30 days if they so choose.Kubiak said with just these 26 parcels, Pittsburgh could generate roughly $3.5 million, which would go toward things like infrastructure and Public Safety."People that don't pass the Purely Public Charity test should pay their fair share to our beautiful, lovely city called Pittsburgh," Gainey said.A spokesperson for Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network gave this statement to Pittsburgh's Action News 4 regarding the exemption challenge:"Highmark Health and AHN leaders have been in conversations with the mayor's office about the issue of support to a civic fund and look forward to continued dialogue."We believe that any efforts with the city need to ensure all organizations are consistently engaged and that funding support is equitably and fairly proportionate to each organization."And as a reminder, in 2022, Highmark paid about $200 million in taxes and we provided more than $300 million in charity care, uncompensated care, and community giving. We have also invested nearly $1.4 billion in communities since the beginning of the pandemic."Pittsburgh's Action News 4 also received a statement from UPMC:"The parcels identified today have all been previously approved for their tax-exempt status as they support UPMC's charitable mission of serving our patients, members, and communities."The city of Pittsburgh is aware of UPMC's ongoing support and the multitude of our investments in the city, and that it can count on our full participation in fair and equitable programs that include the region's other major nonprofits."The vibrancy of Pittsburgh – as well as all the communities we serve throughout the commonwealth – is of utmost importance to UPMC. UPMC has long been committed to being a great neighbor, a trusted resource for health care, and a creator of well-paying jobs. We are proud of our leadership role as a key economic engine for the city, with more than 18,000 employees choosing to work and live within the city itself."A spokesperson for the University of Pittsburgh said, "Our conversations with the mayor and his team are active and ongoing—on this topic and many others. We are confident that the University of Pittsburgh meets the requirements spelled out for tax exempt properties."Carnegie Mellon's director of media relations said, "We look forward to working with Mayor Gainey on this review as Carnegie Mellon University continues to make major investments and contributions to the Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania economies through our research, education and service missions, as well as critical job creation, startup formation and capital investments."