If elected to the Saint Petersburg City Council, David McKalip will pursue a community program to reward charitable deeds and neighborly activity through tax breaks and other local perks.
McKalip, a neurosurgeon, describes his “Good Neighbor Reward Program” as a break from what he calls “failed government social programs” and would instead pull out the good in people to take on important social issues together.
The program would create a “Good Neighbor Registry” with the City and would recruit local charity partners who would organize charitable activities or accept donations in exchange for reward points. The activities would be verified by Partner Charities and recorded in the Registry by the charity.
Rewarded activities could include things like: tutoring a child, helping a single mom with parenting, helping a rehabilitated prisoner return to society, transporting a senior citizen to the doctor or to get their groceries, driving for Meals on Wheels, working for Habitat for Humanity, Pinellas Hope volunteer time, neighborhood cleanups, crime watch, or any other activities that leave a positive impact on the community.
The Reward Points earned through the program would be redeemable for such City benefits as: rebates on utility bills or property taxes, forgiven parking tickets or fines, free tickets to City-based events (Rays games, Grand Prix, Mahaffey Theater and more), and free or discounted access to City-based amenities like golf or museums.
According to McKalip, the program would pay its own way and ensure that those citizens who are helping their neighbors directly or through contributions can keep their money instead of sending it to the government through taxes. The program would also use pre-existing city-created benefits to reward citizens in ways that he says should incur no cost to the taxpayer.
Dr. McKalip explained: “The citizens of St. Petersburg know something that most politicians don’t know: they can do more to improve the life of their neighbors with a few hours of their time than any government has ever done with years of good intentions. We are more likely to begin to address long standing issues of poverty, crime, jobs and education if individual citizens reach out to their brother and sister to help them find their path to freedom, prosperity and the dignity and pride of an independent, productive life.” McKalip will speak more about his community concept on Wednesday at 5PM on station WTIS, AM 1110.
