County Set To End Rule On Worker Residency
By Wayne Tompkins
Faced with hard-to-fill vacancies and high cost-of-living expenses, Miami-Dade County commissioners Tuesday took steps to eliminate the local residency requirement for county employees who aren’t already exempt.
The Budget and Finance Committee approved the measure and sent it to the full commission. County residents would still receive hiring preference.
"A lot of our employees really can’t afford to live here anymore," said Leon Fuller of AFSCME Local 199, one of three union representatives who spoke in favor of the change. "There are actually vacancies that can’t be filled simply because there is no one in Miami-Dade County who can fill those positions."
About half the county’s 30,000 employees already are exempt, including police, fire and corrections employees, some building department workers and those employed before 1998, when the county adopted a residency requirement.
Corrine Brody, interim human resources director, said auditors, accountants, planners and some skilled trades jobs have been especially hard to fill.
"When you look at some of the forecasts for the future in the Florida economy, it’s expected that some of those classifications could see a 10% increase in demand," she said. "It becomes a question of whether we will see new folks in the marketplace that we can attract."
Commissioner José "Pepe" Diaz said that while he supports the measure, "I don’t know where they are going to end up," he said of county employees. "Broward is as expensive as we are, and so is Monroe."
Commissioner Rebeca Sosa said, "if we are saying that the working class (is) moving out of Miami-Dade County, then our problem is bigger." Advertisement
Related Articles
- County clears Jackson Health workers for hazard pay
- New cities’ impact on Miami-Dade Police, fire pivotal
- Jose Arrojo: Leading county Commission on Ethics and…
- Miami-Dade voters may be asked to elect a sheriff
- New airport use agreement puts American Airlines first
- Miami-Dade reaches 100 million square feet of offices
- Fare-free municipal and county circulators a transit patch
- County spending money it doesn’t have, Mayor Giménez warns
- FYI Miami: October 24, 2019
- FYI Miami: June 21, 2018
Most Popular
- Florida banks ready for a second round of PPP loans
- Miami-Dade County historic population boom hits a wall
- City clears roadblock to restoration of Miami Marine Stadium
- County-developer deal around Dolphin Station nears
- South Dade Bus Rapid Transit faces new roadblocks
- Doral transforms parks with dozen-plus sculptures
- To regain magic, Lincoln Road big boxes may be limited
- Raquel Regalado: New commissioner hatching plans for most county issues
- Miami Beach goes all out to woo Class A office space
- Overtown covets status as food and entertainment district
Recent Comments