The Sanford City Commission extended a state of emergency yesterday that has been in place since Hurricane Ian hit Florida. Commissioners discussed putting extra protections for workers in the next extension.
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Commissioners voted to extend the state of emergency in Sanford that has been in place since September 28th.
The order makes it easier for city leaders to put certain protections in place against price gouging. And to also expedite cleanup.
Commissioner Sheena Britton says she wants to see protections for essential worker pay in the next extension. These workers kept residents safe during and after the storm.
“Other cities have emergency situations and they have something like this that kicks in an additional 5 dollars per hour for those that have to go over overtime, for essential workers, hazard pay, acts of God. That couldn’t be in something like this?”
Britton says a policy like this could help the city's employment numbers, along with its overall emergency response strategy.
“Because we’re looking at employment of permanent and temporary workers, utilization of volunteer workers, emergency equipment. Why couldn’t, maybe in the future then, why couldn’t we put essential worker pay in there?”
The order must be extended every seven days in order for it to remain active.
Seminole County continues to experience flooding after Hurricane Ian, which could be made worse by heavy rains this week.
