The rent is too damn high. Boston residents know it, and City Councilor Ed Flynn knows it.

Flynn proposed a solution, not to lower high housing costs, but to help people who work for the city afford to live in it.

He called for a hearing order on the city’s decades-old residency requirement for municipal employees to discuss whether the “residency requirement has become a barrier to recruiting and retaining talent” in Boston, which he said “continues to rank as one of the most expensive cities to live in the United States.”

Anyone whose gotten sticker shock when apartment hunting knows that to be true, but while Flynn’s hearing order is an important sign that housing costs in Boston have reached a breaking point, it doesn’t put muscle where it’s most needed.

“With today’s housing crisis and the high cost of living, and many working families and employees struggling to remain in Boston, it is worthwhile that we discuss our city’s ability to continue to attract and retain talent to ensure both public safety and the quality of life for our residents,” Flynn said in a statement to the Herald.

He cited a SmartAsset study that found a single adult has to make over $124,966 a year to live comfortably in the city, whereas a family of four has to make $319,738.

The average salary of a City of Boston employee is $79,000, according to Flynn’s order. Making good money isn’t what it used to be, and whether renting or buying, $79,000 a year isn’t going to cut it with Boston prices.

Revisiting the residency requirements would allow for people working for Boston to live somewhere affordable and commute. It’s vital that we add to and maintain the ranks of public safety personnel, but all workers in Boston, public or private employees, need to be able to afford the rent or mortgage. Flynn’s suggestion is a good temporary measure, but it can’t be the way out of our housing crisis.

Exorbitant housing costs must not become the status quo, with employers and staff scrambling to find workarounds.

We can’t be the new Martha’s Vineyard. While a charming and beautiful vacation spot, it’s also a great place to live — if you have lots of money. If you work there and don’t pull down big bucks, good luck.

WBUR reported on the wealthy enclave’s housing woes: There are plenty of jobs, but restaurants and stores often can’t find enough staff because workers can’t afford to live there. Officials worry public safety is being compromised because they can’t retain or lure correctional officers or 911 dispatchers.

“We’re losing our low- and moderate-income families. We’re losing our middle class, because we have no housing,” said Laura Silber, a Martha’s Vineyard Commission housing planner.

There are differences of scale, of course, and the summer rental price factor, but the lesson remains: Sky-high housing costs hurt residents across the board, whether they’re police officers, school officials or restaurant workers.

A change in residency requirements for all city workers is a good stop-gap measure, but the goal needs to be bringing more affordable housing units online to beef up the housing stock and lower rents across the board.

Editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel (Creators Syndicate)