WORCESTER, Mass. - Mayor Joe Petty and District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson are putting orders forward to establish a new formal model for how Worcester and its private colleges can work to impact the community in the form of millions of dollars from the schools’ endowments.

“What we're looking for is 0.5%," Mero-Carlson said. "And we look at that as a working together partnership around creating jobs as well as housing in the city of Worcester.”

Worcester’s five private colleges and universities have a combined annual endowment of about $3.88-billion, according to a joint release from Mayor Petty and Councilor Mero-Carlson.

If their proposed ballot question passes in November, they say it’ll generate more than $19-million annually to invest in creating jobs, housing and tax base expansion.

“The residents of Worcester certainly know that in the last probably 14, 15 months, there's been over $64-million worth of property taken off the tax rolls by the colleges," Mero-Carlson said. "And so, what we're looking for is a partnership with the colleges around housing and community development.”

Regarding recent property deals, Mero-Carlson noted acquisitions by MCPHS, Holy Cross, and WPI made within the last two years with little or no notice to the city.

“We're finding out things that are happening, which are major issues for the city, we're finding out after the fact," Mero-Carlson said. "The other piece that we want them to do is there's over 300 board members, and currently we have six residents from the city of Worcester.”

The city councilors are also hoping to get more local representation on the school boards and Mero-Carlson said the burden of eroding the city’s tax base ultimately falls on the businesses and residents of Worcester.

“We can't continue to bear that burden without something else being in place to help move forward. So, we all need to work together," Mero-Carlson said. "I think it would be a great partnership moving forward. It's a great return on their investment and certainly works for the city of Worcester.”

Clark University is still assessing the details at the time of this article.