ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown City Council last month pulled a proposed contract with a city shelter over concerns that workers in its transitional employment program would not be paid enough to get out of homelessness.
Council looked set to approve a five-year agreement with the Allentown Rescue Mission’s Clean Team Workforce on Feb. 21 at a projected cost of $2.13 million.
The Clean Team’s services are due to cost the city just under $350,000 during the contract’s first year.
If the contract is approved as presented, Allentown would pay the Clean Team a base fee of about $298,000 in the first year, plus $21.60 per hour per worker for special events, projects and winter storm cleanups.
But council member Ce-Ce Gerlach raised questions about how much — or how little — of that money will go directly to workers.
If Clean Team workers still earn the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, that “might not be a livable wage for them to get out of homelessness,” Gerlach said.
Administration officials could not provide a breakdown for how the Clean Team will spend the money from the contract.
Breaking down the numbers
But Stuart Smith, CEO for the Allentown Rescue Mission and its affiliated Clean Team, defended the program — and its pay structure — to the hilt in a conversation with LehighValleyNews.com.
“There is nothing wrong with $18 an hour."Stuart Smith, Allentown Rescue Mission CEO
The Clean Team was founded about 15 years ago to help homeless men gain stable employment by offering them jobs cleaning up downtown Allentown, the Kutztown Festival, Saucon Valley Country Club and other areas.
Those jobs help them build valuable skills and save up enough money to move out of the Rescue Mission's temporary housing, Smith said.
Employees living there earn $8 an hour in direct payments and the equivalent of about $10 an hour in services and benefits, like housing, clothing, food, transportation and medical care, Smith said.
“There is nothing wrong with $18 an hour,” Smith said.
The remaining money from the contract will help pay for the Clean Team’s management staff, insurance, utilities, several vehicles and more, he said.
Those who continue to work for the program after moving into an apartment earn $13 an hour in direct payments, he said.
The Clean Team "is not a profitable thing. The city is benefitting greatly from this program.”Stuart Smith, Allentown Rescue Mission CEO
The Clean Team’s contract with Allentown represents about 30% of its total revenue and supports seven full-time employees, six of whom live in apartments, Smith said.
'Not a profitable' program
The Clean Team was the sole bidder for the contract, a fact that does not surprise Smith.
“Nobody else bid for a reason,” he said, estimating any private company would have to charge the city almost twice as much as the Clean Team to make a worthwhile profit.
“This is not a profitable thing,” he said. “The city is benefitting greatly from this program.”
Council is expected to reconsider the contract at its meeting Tuesday. Smith said he plans to bring a detailed presentation showing exactly where the city's money would go if the contract is awarded.
The Allentown Rescue Mission serves about 1,000 men each year at its emergency shelter. About 10% complete the organization's eight-week transformation and are offered jobs on the Clean Team, Smith said.
About half — 50 men — work on the Clean Team each year, he said.
