Our tourism worker are being priced out of the housing market. Florida law allows rent control in emergencies. Employers need to help with drafting legislation and lobbying local governments.
Have greedy corporate landlords priced our tourism employees out of the monopolistic housing market in St. Augustine, Florida?
Rent control laws are illegal in Florida, except in emergencies.
Sounds to me like this is an "emergency."
Employers need to support emergency rent controls.
It's the right thing to do,
Otherwise, are they just playing for sympathy?
Quo vobis videtor?
(What do y'all reckon?)
Would someone please ask the City and County Attorneys to do some legal research?
See below for full text of Florida Statute 166.043 Ordinances and rules imposing price controls; findings required; procedures.—
In the meantime, though, restaurant owners like Gypsy Cab Co.’s Frank O’Rourke, who has also been a real estate broker for over 20 years, said the “nonexistent” affordable housing options available to workers means local restaurant owners have to raise wages even more than other First Coast businesses have in order to attract employees.
For these restaurants — whose margins have become even thinner with elevated food prices — raising wages often also forces higher menu prices.
Deciding to raise prices, though, is not an easy decision for most restaurants.
“Price sensitivity is such a slippery slope,” O’Rourke said. “We have to stay in business, but we also can’t price ourselves out of the market.”
To succeed on even thinner margins requires an increase in sales volume, which he admitted was not easy to achieve with fewer high-quality workers.
O’Rourke said that while it’s nice to see his employees being rewarded with higher wages for their hard work, he fears much of their gains are being canceled out by the same economic forces straining businesses.
“Even though it sounds good — ‘I’m making $3 an hour more’ — well, your rent’s also 30% higher, and gas is higher, and food is higher,” he said.
From Jacksonville Business Journal:
Gypsy Cab Co. owner Frank O'Rourke with Kendra Turley, left, and Chandelle McDonie. Turley is a partner in the restaurant, and McDonie is an artist who helped Gypsy Cab Co.'s renovations.
In the meantime, though, restaurant owners like Gypsy Cab Co.’s Frank O’Rourke, who has also been a real estate broker for over 20 years, said the “nonexistent” affordable housing options available to workers means local restaurant owners have to raise wages even more than other First Coast businesses have in order to attract employees.
For these restaurants — whose margins have become even thinner with elevated food prices — raising wages often also forces higher menu prices.
Deciding to raise prices, though, is not an easy decision for most restaurants.
“Price sensitivity is such a slippery slope,” O’Rourke said. “We have to stay in business, but we also can’t price ourselves out of the market.”
To succeed on even thinner margins requires an increase in sales volume, which he admitted was not easy to achieve with fewer high-quality workers.
O’Rourke said that while it’s nice to see his employees being rewarded with higher wages for their hard work, he fears much of their gains are being canceled out by the same economic forces straining businesses.
“Even though it sounds good — ‘I’m making $3 an hour more’ — well, your rent’s also 30% higher, and gas is higher, and food is higher,” he said.
Some of these business have been in this town for decades and made millions. If they really cared about workers, they could have snapped up real estate and provided housing options for their workers. This might sound silly but it's an outside of the box idea that could benefit workers who might be motivated to exist in such an arrangement for some period of time. The business would not even have to charge rent accept for what the land tax would cost and workers might be motivated to stay employed with that company because they would have more money to spend or save overall...and could purchase their own homes in much less time than they would if they were out of such an arrangement. But no...the hogs don't think like this. Only care for workers is superficial or skin deep. And they cry about government inaction yet don't realize the governments sole purpose now days is to uphold the economic system that creates these problems. People must elect people who understand that free market capitalism has some nasty externalities and will only create more and more problems if they continue to ignore them. Businesses could step up and do a lot but little do they realize that upholding the status quo is part of the problem. Government is not going to do a damn thing anymore. This is the first thing people need to realize.
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