Agenda - 05-30-2013 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Living Wage Background The Board of County Commissioners has established a living wage for County employees. When the Board established the Living Wage in 1998, it set the amount of that wage at $8.00 per hour. Since that date the Living Wage has been updated as follows: Date Living Wage July 1998 $8.00 an hour November 1999 $8.20 an hour July 2000 $8.45 an hour July 2001 $9.11 an hour July 2005 $9.34 an hour July 2007 $10.12 an hour July 2011 $10.81 an hour July 2012 $10.97 an hour The Board considers Living Wage updates annually during the budget process. Method for Establishing the Living Wage The Board has based its determination of the Living Wage on the Federal poverty level for a family of four as adjusted for the Raleigh- Durham Region based on the American Chamber of Commerce Research Association's (ACCRA) cost of living index. When the Board initially determined the method for establishing the living wage, the ACCRA cost of living index for the Raleigh- Durham Region included Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. In 2004, the cost of living index for Raleigh- Durham was split into two indexes: Raleigh -Cary and Durham (which included Chapel Hill). Since 2004, data was obtained for each city (Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill) and averaged to obtain the cost of living index for the Raleigh- Durham Region. Over time, the demographics of the County workforce have shifted to include more employees who live in and /or engage in activities, such as shopping and recreation, in Alamance County. The following chart provides the county of residence for current employees, both permanent and temporary: County of Residence Permanent Employees Temporary Employees All Employees Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Orange 446 54.0% 144 72.0% 590 57.5% Alamance 127 15.1% 15 7.5% 145 14.1% Durham 125 15.4% 18 9.0% 140 13.6% Wake 51 6.2% 6 3.0% 57 5.6% Other 77 9.3% 17 8.5% 94 9.2% 826 200 1,026 01L1