Residency Incentives?

[Bill Call]

The subject of residency incentives is raised as one option in the arsenal of ideas on how to maintain and improve Lakewood's competitive position.

The general idea is to increase the pay and benefits of City employees to encourage them to live in the City. Right now about 20% of full time City employees live in the City. That's about 110 people.

The question is: How many employees would you like to have or reasonably expect to have live in the City and how much would it cost?

And:

If employees are willing to spend 5 hours a week in the car and spend $2,500 a year in gas and spend $500 a year extra local income taxes to live anywhere but here how much will it cost to keep them?

Would they move back for $500, $1,000 $10,000?

Let's assume that an annual $7,500 subsidy would encourage 110 employees to move back to Lakewood. That subsidy would also have to be offered to current residents. The total cost would be $1.65 million dollars per year. Over a ten year period that would amount to over $16 million dollars.

Keep in mind that the unions would ultimately demand the same subsidy for non-residents and that ultimately they would get it necessitating a further increase in the subsidy.

It seems that a residency incentive that actually kept employees in Lakewood would be prohibitively expensive.

Instead of spending $16 million dollars on additional raises and benefits for City employees why not spend $16 million dollars on development and housing to encourage people who like what Lakewood has to offer to stay here or relocate here.

If you still insist on a residency incentive how about this: City employees pay 50% of health and dental insurance premiums unless they live in the City, then they pay only 25% of the premium.

[ryan costa]

some people who work downtown cleveland get complimentary bus passes. it is cheaper than parking downtown.

Perhaps city employees of lakewood could be provided rain jackets and bicycle parking spots as incentives to live in the city that employs them.