Baltimore’s spending board approved a $48 million deal for city nonprofits to make payments to the city in place of taxes Wednesday, voting unanimously as protesters holding signs looked on.

The deal, announced this month, calls for 14 tax-exempt city institutions to make annual payments to the city starting at $6 million in 2027 and escalating to $12 million by 2030.

The agreement, which is the city’s third such deal since 2010, will span five years, half the life of the agreement that preceded it. The current deal, which will expire in the middle of 2026, generated $6 million for Baltimore annually.

Baltimore uses the money — known as payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, in government jargon — to supplement its budget, which, with limited exceptions, does not receive property tax revenue from nonprofit organizations. City finance officials say the nonprofits generate significant expense, however. They estimate the city spends $47 million annually to provide services, including police and fire protection, to the groups.

The new PILOT agreement was negotiated behind closed doors despite pleas from a group of advocates that wanted a seat at the table. Calling themselves With Us For Us, the advocates lobbied for annual payments closer to the $47 million in costs related to the institutions.

Legislation backed by the advocates that would have created a task force to advise city officials about the PILOT is stuck in committee.

Advocates crowded the city’s Board of Estimates room Wednesday but did not speak. They held signs saying: “Baltimore deserves quality service through transparent bidding” and “protect our progress.”

Council President Zeke Cohen, one of five members of the mayor-controlled Board of Estimates, said he understood the pressures universities and hospitals are facing under the presidency of Donald Trump but said he was disappointed the negotiation process was not more “inclusive.”

“There’s frustration and disappointment out there that it could have been better,” Cohen said of the final deal.

City Administrator Faith Leach, who attended the meeting on behalf of Mayor Brandon Scott, said the advocacy on the issue helped to put pressure on nonprofits to contribute more.

“I really do want to underscore our appreciation for the community engagement,” she said.

Comptroller Bill Henry said the activism around the PILOT agreement showed there is clear public support for “doing this in a different way.”

“I think the next time we do this, if we don’t do it in a different way, that’s when I suspect we’ll be seeing pitchforks in the streets,” he said.

The Johns Hopkins University, along with its affiliated hospitals, pays about half of Baltimore’s PILOT. The University of Maryland Medical System is also a substantial contributor, paying roughly a quarter of the sum.