Poulsbo to pilot employer survey to explore incentives for staff housing

The task force approved development of a voluntary city survey for local employers to gauge employee housing needs and potential employer-provided incentives.

"The city send out a voluntary survey to all employers that have a business license here in Poulsbo, and get them to solicit their employees...to fill out the survey that I've developed," Peter said, describing a short instrument designed to capture where workers currently live, whether they want to live in Poulsbo, and what kinds of supports would help them. Task force members volunteered to review the draft survey and suggested distributing it to a short list of the largest local employers identified by staff.

Attendees provided a quick list of employers and rough employment counts to help target outreach: North Kitsap employers and local retail and services were identified as among the largest employers in the county and city. Members discussed using the dataset to identify employer categories, pay ranges, and whether rent-subsidy or down-payment programs would be more effective.

Staff will circulate the survey draft ahead of the next meeting and the committee agreed to pursue targeted outreach to employers and consider holding employer-focused discussions if the initial responses suggest viable models.