Asheville Citizen-Times
| March 18, 2007
Section: News Edition: MAIN Page: 1A JOEL BURGESS STAFF STORY |
| plan gets momentum Council eyes requirements, incentives By Joel Burgess JBURGESS@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM ASHEVILLE -- Businesses that do work for the city could be required to pay employees at least $10.86 an hour -- a "living wage" an advocacy group says is the minimum needed to afford local housing. The City Council is looking at the wage requirement for city employees and city contractors as well as incentives, including tax breaks, for other businesses. It's not clear yet how many contractors would be affected. A possible adjustment of $9.50 could be made for employers paying health insurance. The council last week heard from members of the Asheville/Buncombe Living Wage Campaign. The elected body plans to hear from possible opponents and to get a report from staff about local governments with similar rules. Council members did not say when they might make a final decision, though several appear to lean toward the wage rule. A growing movement According to the Living Wage Resource Center Web site, 131 U.S. cities and counties have a living wage requirement. The only places in North Carolina are Durham and Durham County. Supporters said a bump in pay would let workers share some of the prosperity at the top of society. "There is a lot of concern that Asheville could become a city of economic extremes," said Mark Siler, with Christians for a United Community. Opponents called the move "socialistic" and disputed figures that 25 percent of jobs in the county, mostly connected to the tourism industry, don't pay a living wage. "I talked to one employer in the tourism industry, and he told me that four people out of 25 (who) work for him make under $10.50 an hour," said Rick Lutovsky, president of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Local governments with living wages typically apply the rule to government workers and contractors. City's practice in place Asheville already pays full- and part-time staff above the suggested living wage, officials said, though temporary seasonal workers, such as lifeguards, make less. The number of large city contractors and a dollar amount for the contracts were not available Friday afternoon. Smaller contractors are hired by individual departments and are not tracked in a central system, city spokeswoman Lauren Bradley said. Isaac Coleman, living wage campaign steering committee member and founder of the African-American-Latino Coalition, said the city could structure the wage in different ways, such as applying to large contractors only. "We are very sensitive to the fact that there are some small businesses that might be challenged by that, and that there is always some way to include them," Coleman said. Incentives eyed The real impact could come if businesses that don't contract with the city go along with paying the wage, supporters said. To encourage them, the businesses could receive state or local tax incentives for paying the wage, they said. At least three of seven council members -- Brownie Newman, Robin Cape and Vice Mayor Holly Jones -- have spoken in favor of the wage. Jones called the proposal "inspiring," because it relies on "carrots, not sticks." "This is what we hold up for our community," she said, "to try to turn around this wage disparity for our community, and we all know it's there." Councilman Bryan Freeborn said he's interested in the effect on contractors, information which Mayor Terry Bellamy instructed staff to get. Bellamy did not offer an opinion at Tuesday's council meeting about the wage, but has links to supporters, including Coleman, her former campaign manager. Councilman Jan Davis expressed skepticism, saying he pays his own employees a living wage, but is concerned about the effect on the city budget and for small businesses. "We have to be concerned about who that might put out of work," said Davis, owner of Jan Davis Tire. Councilman Carl Mumpower expressed the greatest opposition, calling the idea "symbolic" and "socialistic." The figures presented by wage supporters, he said, meant "75 percent of the good employers in Asheville see fit to supply a living wage or surely beyond." Box: Current minimum wage laws* N.C.: $6.15/hour. The General Assembly raised the minimum from $5.15 last year. For workers who make at least $3.02 in tips, the minimum went from $2.13 to $3.13. Federal: $5.15 an hour. Legislators are considering raising this to $7.25 an hour incrementally over two years. The House and Senate are now negotiating over an accompanying tax-help package for small businesses that could range from $1.3 billion to $8.3 billion. * The higher of the two wages applies box: Asheville proposed 'living wage' $10.86 an hour or $9.50 an hour with health insurance Who it might apply to: city employees, contractors with the city and, on a voluntary basis, other businesses How it was calculated: *"fair market" rent in 2007 for a one-bedroom apartment in Asheville metro area -- $543 a month *amount of income housing organizations say an individual or family should pay no more than to be able to meet other basic needs -- 30 percent *30 percent of $1,810 is $543 *$1,810 times 12 months is $21,720 a year *$21,720 divided by 2,000 hours (excludes 80 hours vacation) is $10.86 an hour. The Asheville/Buncombe Living Wage Campaign |
 |
|
Copyright (c) Asheville Citizen-Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc. |