SEAFORD, DE - Seaford City Council has approved a new "Live Where You Work" policy that will provide annual payments to employees who reside within Seaford's city limits. The policy, which is set to begin in January of 2024, will provide full-time employees who reside in Seaford with an annual payment of $750.
The city hopes that this financial incentive will motivate employees to become part of the city's residential community, promoting employees to be personally invested in the future success of Seaford. The policy is also aimed at attracting and retaining employees.
Vice-Mayor and City Councilman Dan Henderson, who was a major player in the plans creation, says the idea has been years in the work,
“It’s always been difficult to find and attract great talent, this is just another tool, another incentive to have people live where they work.” said Henderson.
He added it will create personal investment,
“We want our employees to be involved in their community, the community that they serve, I think that will be a help. It’s very difficult to expect a employee that commutes a distance of up to 30 miles to be intimately involved in the community.”
Henderson also noted the safety benefits of the policy. He says since City Police are allowed to take their patrol car home, having the officers physically live in town will provide an extra blanket of comfort.
"It's a benefit to the community members to have the car closer to home, and even inside the city limits to enjoy that benefit, and the security and confidence in seeing that car parked in the drive way or on the curb," said Henderson.
Seaford resident William Vanaman, says he support the concept -- but also raised questions about its scope, wondering if the concept would extended to a wider population.
“It can be very beneficial, you know, to have people in the city that work for the city – you figure they have more incentive to work for the community. But what about all the people that don’t work for the city? I can see it going both ways.”
