Skip to Content

Hard hats

Main Content

Residents Preference Program

Through the Residents Preference Program (RPP), the City of Milwaukee strives to help under- and unemployed residents gain access to employment opportunities. The Residents Preference Program is designed to promote the use of City of Milwaukee residents as part of a contractor's or developer's workforce on PACE projects. Under Common Council File #131139, contractors working on PACE-financed projects must make a best effort to utilize 40% RPP-certified workers.

To qualify as an RPP worker, an identified individual must be a City of Milwaukee resident and must meet at least one of the following requirements: 1) Has not worked in the preceding 15 days, 2) Has worked less than 1,200 hours in the preceding 12 months, and 3) Meets certain federal poverty guidelines. Certification becomes invalid if a worker moves outside of the Milwaukee city limits. While there is no expiration date for RPP certification, the individual must continue to live in the City of Milwaukee to remain RPP-certified. If an RPP individual moves within the City of Milwaukee, their RPP certification will need to be updated with the new City of Milwaukee address.

Contractors speaking

Residents Preference Program Process

  1. Determine the RPP Labor Requirement: Submit the RPP Plan Form as part of the PACE application to plan how much RPP-certified labor is needed and which areas of the project will provide the required RPP-certified hours.
  2. Find RPP Labor: If there are not enough employees and labor hours to fulfill the 40% requirement, contractors must submit a request to Milwaukee's workforce development agencies (list below). If unsuccessful, the requirement will be waived.
  3. Certify RPP Labor: Individuals that meet requirements must complete the RPP Employee Affidavit and be confirmed by a certifying agency (list below). If confirmed, submit the affidavit to [email protected].
  4. Track RPP Labor: Track RPP labor hours using the RPP Plan Form or register with the Labor Compliance Reporting (LCR )App to submit RPP documentation including certification and payroll information (guidance below).

Helpful Resources

Find support to complete RPP requirements for PACE Milwaukee projects.

Workforce Development

Submit a request to the below agencies documenting the potential qualified workers supplied to the contractor or that the organization was unable to provide qualified candidates.

Worker Certifying Agencies

To become certified, a worker must complete an affidavit and schedule an appointment with one of the approved certifying agencies, a sample of which are listed below.

LCR App Support

The LCR App is provided by the City of Milwaukee at no charge. At the beginning of each project, staff will receive support in using the system. Use the guides below to get started.

top