City Workers Could Get Rent Stipend Up To $500 In St. Pete: Report

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — City employees who are required to live within St. Petersburg city limits could receive a monthly rent stipend.

At their Thursday meeting, city councilors approved $1.47 million for the Employee Rental Assistance Program, the Tampa Bay Times reported. If approved by Mayor Ken Welch, workers required to live in the city could receive up to $500 monthly for two years.

The policy requiring certain workers to live in the city dates back to the mid-1990s. Promoted by the SEIU Florida Public Service Union, the rule impacts those hired by the city on or after Oct. 1, 1997, according to St. Pete Catalyst. The goal was to promote the hiring of Black and other minority residents living there

To be eligible for the stipend, workers must also make less than $48,000 annually, according to Bay News 9. Under these stipulations, about 250 employees would be eligible for the rental assistance.

“Communities like San Francisco have got it right because while they have a huge affordable housing issue, they also have a business community that is willing to put their money behind helping their workers be able to live in close proximity to where they work," Brandi Gabbard, vice chair of St. Pete City Council, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal.