Alameda set to give 150 households monthly stipends

The city of Alameda will be giving 150 low-income households $1,000 monthly payments for 24 months, starting in spring or summer of 2023.

In a 3-2 vote, the City Council approved a guaranteed basic income program that aims to help those most in need. There will be no conditions or restrictions on how participants can spend the money.

“During the pandemic, we learned that while in many ways we were all in it together, certainly some individuals and groups were impacted more heavily than others,” Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft said in an interview, adding that people of color are one of those groups.

In Alameda, low-income is defined as a family of four that makes less than $106,000 per year or a single person who makes less than $74,200 per year. City staffers will be determining over the next several months what'll constitute a household for purposes of the program and what income levels to target.

Staffers also will be figuring out whom the city will partner with to administer the program and how participants fare.

The pilot program, estimated to cost $4.6 million, will be financed from American Rescue Plan Act funds that the federal government has doled out to cities and counties across the nation to help cope with the pandemic's impacts. Alameda received $28.68 million of the pandemic relief money in 2021.

The idea of providing guaranteed basic income sprang from a city subcommittee formed in 2020 to reimagine public safety. Ashcraft and Council member John Knox White subsequently formed a council subcommittee to further explore what could be done.

“We want this to be a pilot, not in that it's just a short term … we want this to actually add to the volume of knowledge that is being collected and developed across the country,” Knox White said at the council meeting. “This is where we are headed with the changes in the job market.”

Council members Tony Daysog and Trish Herrera Spencer voted against the program.

“There is great need, but I think it's important as a body that we come up with a better way to actually serve these people that have need and not just 1.5% of them,” Herrera Spencer said.

The city estimates about 11,000 households could qualify for this program, so criteria must be established to select from among the pool of likely applicants.

Guaranteed basic income has steadily gained popularity over the past few years. Unlike universal basic income which serves an entire population, guaranteed basic income targets a specific group that meets certain criteria.

Democratic primary presidential candidate Andrew Yang made universal basic income one of his campaign platforms and today there are almost 100 guaranteed basic income programs across the country, according to city staff.

Ashcroft said before the meeting she planned to join an organization called Mayors for a Guaranteed Basic Income if the council approved the program.

“I want to make sure that we do this and then I will jump right on board,” she said.

Among local cities that have approved similar programs are Oakland and San Francisco. In Oakland, 600 families receive $500 a month for 18 months.

The guaranteed basic income program in Stockton allowed participants to complete internships, training or other coursework and pursue full-time employment. When the program began, 28% of the participants were fully employed and a year later 40% were.