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Attachment 1 4 <br /> ^iiio oimiomiWUmouuWM��pVU�WNm�I'VIM�p�Nm� <br /> IIIV�MIII� <br /> m uuuuuuouomWu �uuumimuiu0iw10uW1 U) I y I onu <br /> p <br /> COUNTY MANAGER'S OFFICE <br /> 200 South Cameron Street Phone(919)245-2300 <br /> Post Office Box 8181 Fax(919)644-3004 <br /> Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 <br /> November 12, 2015 <br /> TO: Bonnie Hammersley <br /> County Manager <br /> FROM: Travis Myren <br /> Deputy County Manager <br /> RE: Update on Living Wage Policies <br /> This memorandum summarizes the County's current living wage policies and discusses options and a <br /> process for potentially expanding these policies in the future. It evaluates the County's role in living <br /> wage initiatives from three different perspectives and highlights policy questions and next steps for <br /> continued analysis and potential policy development. <br /> County as an Employer <br /> The County has an established a living wage policy for its own employees. During the FY 14-15 Budget <br /> process, the Board of Commissioners established a living wage rate for employees of $12.76 per hour. <br /> The Board also codified a calculation methodology which uses the Federal Poverty Rate for a family of <br /> four and enhances that rate by 7.5% to produce an annual living wage rate for employees. For the FY <br /> 15-16 Budget, that calculation resulted in a wage rate lower than the established rate of$12.76, so the <br /> current rate was maintained for this fiscal year and will continue to be maintained until the formula <br /> produces an hourly rate higher than $12.76 per hour. <br /> The policy applies to all full time, part time, temporary, and seasonal employees. The policy has <br /> benefitted 124 temporary employees who currently earn $12.76 per hour. No regular employees are <br /> impacted since the current salary schedules set starting salaries for regular employees at rates higher <br /> than the living wage rate. For FY 15-16, the wage rate did not increase, so personnel costs did not <br /> increase as a result of the policy. As the rate increases in future years, the County Manager will include <br /> the increase as part of the Manager's base budget assumptions. <br /> Several public sector employers in the region have also adopted living wage standards for employees. <br /> These employers currently include but may not be limited to the Town of Carrboro, Town of Chapel Hill, <br /> Orange County Schools, City of Durham, Durham County, and the Durham Public Schools District. <br /> County as a Purchaser of Goods and Services <br /> In 2013, the State of North Carolina prohibited local government purchasing policies that would require <br /> a private company to pay a living wage as a condition of bidding on a contract. This legislation <br /> Page 1 1 <br />