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After four months of study, a nine-person work group convened by Tompkins County Administrator Joe Mareane to study the County’s 2003 Livable Wage Policy today released a report outlining its findings and recommendations.

The County’s 2003 Livable Wage policy encourages, but does not mandate, the payment of a livable wage to employees of County contractors, most of which are not-for-profit human service agencies. Recently, questions have arisen about how the policy is being applied and whether the Legislature’s living wage goals are being adequately considered in the procurement and award of County contracts.

The report recommends the 2003 Livable Wage Policy remain in place without modification, as a statement of the Legislature’s values and as a goal that the County should aspire to fully achieve, but that procedures be put in place to ensure consistent interpretation and application of the policy, and to establish accountability for performance.

The living wage in Tompkins County, as calculated by the Alternatives Federal Credit Union, is currently $12.62/hour for employees receiving health benefits, and $13.94 for those who do not.

The report recommends the policy apply only to service contracts that involve over $50,000 per year in County funds, and that certain types of employees and positions, such as workers who are under the age of 18 or who work in a sheltered work environment, be exempted.  In keeping with the current policy, criteria are established to determine whether it is “reasonable and practical” to incorporate the living wage standard into a contract.

The approach recommended by the work group is expected to result in increased attainment of the Legislature’s living wage goal, but in measured steps that balance the living wage goal with other, and sometimes conflicting, County goals, such as an affordable government and the preservation of essential services.

Results of a survey conducted by the work group indicate that nearly three-quarters of County contractors already pay their employees at or above the living wage rate.  However, the cost to immediately reach full attainment of the living wage goal is estimated at from $1 million to $2 million per year, which is the equivalent of a 2.3% to 4.6% increase in the County tax levy.  After careful study, the work group found that cost to be beyond the County’s immediate reach.

“We are pleased that so many of the County’s contractors already meet the AFCU’s living wage standard, and believe we have charted a fiscally responsible course that will result in continued progress,” said Mareane. “I doubt that any community has invested as much time in coming to understand the many dimensions of this very complex issue.  We identified a major problem in our ability to consistently and diligently apply the policy—a lack of any procedural guidance to contractors and County staff—and have presented a detailed plan to address that shortcoming. While a call for a mandated wage rate might have appealed to some, and the abandonment of the policy entirely to others, we believe our carefully considered recommendations will produce meaningful and sustained progress in meeting the policy’s goals.”

The work group’s recommendations will be presented to the Legislature’s Government Operations Committee on August 27.

“As Chair of the Government Operations committee, I want to thank all the members of the diverse group of individuals from both the county and the community who came together to work through the challenging issues around provision of a Livable Wage for those working for or doing business with Tompkins County,” said Committee Chair Pat Pryor.  “Members of the GO committee look forward to reviewing the final recommendations of the Livable Wage Working Group at our meeting on August 27th.

Tompkins County itself is a certified living wage employer.  All County employees are paid at least the living wage.  Also, many County contracts are governed by the competitive bidding requirements established by State law and cannot reference wage levels, or by State public works laws that require the payment of State-calculated prevailing wage rates.

The ad hoc Livable Wage Work Group consisted of County Legislators Jim Dennis, Peter Stein, and Kathy Luz Herrera, County Attorney Jonathan Wood, County Finance Director David Squires and his successor Richard Snyder, Contracts Manager Jacqueline Kippola, Solid Waste Division Manager Barbara Eckstrom, Office for the Aging Director Lisa Holmes, and County Administrator Joe Mareane

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