The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved a $500,000 housing subsidy for its public safety personnel.
Monday’s vote allows the city to donate the money from American Rescue Plan funds to the Atlanta Police Foundation. The APF and the Atlanta Apartment Association would use the money to help police officers live in the zones where they work, and help firefighters and corrections officers live in the neighborhoods near their stations or facilities.
The vote was 13-0.
Supporters say public safety workers in Atlanta don’t make enough money to rent or buy in the city.
Some of the public comment period at Atlanta City Council’s meeting addressed the pending resolution.
“We have firefighters from all over. We have firefighters from Trinidad, Virgin Islands, Brooklyn, Miami. Sometimes they’ll go through the process, and then when they get here, the housing can be kind of a struggle,” said Nate Bailey, president of Atlanta Professional Firefighters Local 134.
Atlanta resident Lolita Martin said she meant no offense to firefighters, who are included in the measure, but she questioned why police needed a housing subsidy.
“If they can fundraise $60 million for the police training facility, why give them 500,000 of taxpayer dollars?” she asked councilmembers. Martin also reminded the lawmakers that they have people experiencing homelessness already in their own districts.
“I just do not see how housing for policing is a priority over people who are being killed, who are dying, because they are houseless in Atlanta,” said Martin. “We just had how cold of a night on Friday? If we didn’t have a [warming center] set up, people could have died. I please urge you to shift your priority...if you have $500,000 to give, please prioritize those people.”
Atlanta City Council Member Amir Farokhi, the resolution’s main sponsor, previously said he hopes the program will help Atlanta to attract and retain police and fire department applicants at a time when rental and housing costs are escalating.