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Resident urges Port Washington to declare public assistance a legal source of income in local ordinances
Summary
A long-time volunteer and advocate asked the council to review local ordinance language so landlords cannot refuse rental payments from public assistance organizations. City staff said the city attorney and administration will review the requests and existing ordinance language.
Joseph (Joe) DeLucia, a Port Washington resident and volunteer with Saint Vincent de Paul, urged the Common Council on April 7 to revise local ordinance language so that monies from public assistance programs and charities are explicitly recognized as a legal source of income for rent and deposits.
DeLucia described instances in which landlords would not accept payments from charitable organizations or government rent-assistance programs, and he handed out examples of municipal ordinances from Green Bay, Dane County and Milwaukee County that explicitly include public assistance as a protected source. He asked the city to review its ordinances and consider a change to reduce barriers to housing and to avoid evictions driven by payment-source restrictions.
The mayor thanked DeLucia for his advocacy and said the city attorney had been reviewing the issue; Melissa (city staff) acknowledged the request and took a note to review what ordinance changes would be required for Port Washington. The mayor and council thanked DeLucia for long-standing advocacy on housing needs.
Direction: city staff (city attorney and administration) will review ordinance language and report back on possible changes and next steps.
