Atlanta mayor and councilmember look to provide affordable housing for public safety officials

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and City Councilmember Amir Farokhi have announced that they have partnered up in an effort to provide affordable housing for public safety officials in the city.

Together, Dickens and Farokhi will be working with Atlanta City Council to allot $500,000 of funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to a community-based housing incentive.

The funds would go towards providing a housing subsidy to Atlanta’s police officers, firefighters and corrections officials. The funding would offer an incentive to these public safety workers to reside close by to their respective offices, stations or in their zones.

“People who work in Atlanta should be able to afford to live in Atlanta,” said Mayor Dickens. “My Administration has prioritized the development of affordable housing for our workforce. This investment will help our public safety personnel live in the communities they serve. Thank you to Councilmember Farokhi for helping move this initiative forward.”

The Atlanta Police Foundation — with the assistance of the Atlanta Apartment Association — would be tasked with administering the funds.

Leading the charge in sponsoring the resolution that would go towards funding the housing program is Councilmember Farokhi.

Farokhi says that the aim of the program will be to address housing affordability, build community trust, bolster public safety and increase Atlanta’s recruitment and retention efforts.

“Public safety is a top priority for the Mayor and all of City Council,” said Farokhi.

“We ask our police and fire to do too much with the personnel they have. We must do better at recruitment and retention. I’m excited to partner with the Mayor to launch this innovative housing program. We have been working on it for over a year and I believe it will make for safer neighborhoods and more stable public safety agencies. Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure in Atlanta. This gets us closer to realizing that goal.”

Currently, the resolution has been introduced to Atlanta City Council. It has also been passed along to the Finance Executive Committee.