Gina Driscoll Criticizes Four-Month Delay of St. Pete Clean & Safe Program

ST. PETERSBURG — City Councilmember Gina Driscoll is sharply criticizing a four-month delay in City Council action on a proposed “Clean & Safe” program aimed at addressing public safety and cleanliness issues downtown.

After a committee vote last week advanced the measure to a future Committee of the Whole meeting, the City Council Chair announced that the item would not be taken up until October, after the city’s FY26 budget is passed.

“This means no further discussion or action will be taken by City Council for at least four months, and it’s possible that the proposal will die at that time,” Driscoll wrote in a public statement. “Meanwhile, the problems, along with the frustrations of residents and businesses, will continue to grow.”

The proposed Clean & Safe initiative, modeled after a similar effort in Tampa, would assign city-funded teams to handle cleaning tasks, connect people to services, and maintain a visible downtown presence.

Driscoll expressed frustration that the budget timing could eliminate any chance of funding the program this year. She also criticized what she described as “the inaction of the Mayor and the Administration.”

“Until further notice,” she warned, “we will continue to have overflowing trash cans, human excrement in doorways each morning, and business owners who have to kill violent individuals with mental illness in self-defense. This isn’t hyperbole — it’s the state of downtown today.”

The councilmember said she has asked the Mayor and city staff for interim solutions but has received no response. “I won’t stop fighting for change,” she wrote, “but it’s going to be a long, hot summer.”