Letter to the Editor: Municipal Money and Tax Breaks for Homesharers?

I want to thank Ashley Lusk for explaining advantages of home sharing for mutual benefit [Peninsula Pulse’s Sustainability Issue]. I thought of another dimension. We don’t need employees – ours have been with us a long time and micromanage us because they are that good. However, I understand the housing shortage in Door County and thought of something that might work.

Money currently in the county/municipalities for constructing temporary employee housing would primarily benefit businesses near the development. These ideas would contribute to sustainability by using what is already built.

Many homeowners have a spare room or two – empty nesters, seniors who have lost a spouse, or struggling new homeowners, to name a few. 1) Some County or municipal money could be given to people who are willing to provide affordable rooms and cooking privileges to seasonal workers Door County so desperately needs. Since they often do not have transportation, they need to live close enough to bike or walk to work. 2) There could also be a tax break for providing a room for seasonal help.

In this way, housing could be spread all over the county and benefit many more businesses. Any additional county/municipal monies could be focused on multiple possibilities to provide affordable housing for struggling new entrepreneurs that do have transportation. This would encourage more young people to live and work in Door County and improve the economy.

Carole Vande Walle

Fish Creek, Wisconsin