Living Wage Ordinance Considered in Santa Barbara

County Briefs Tuesday November 27, 2001 Daily Nexus > News > Volume 82, Issue Number 45 Living Wage Ordinance The Santa Barbara City Council will consider the Living Wage ordinance at 7 tonight. The ordinance would increase the hourly pay for city employees to $11 an hour with benefits or $12.25 an hour without. The council – whose terms are ending this year – recommended in September that an ad-hoc committee look into a status report to consider the ordinance’s effects. Tonight, the council will hear the status report and the committee’s recommendation. Living wage proponents, who include the Coalition for a Living Wage and the Isla Vista Tenants Union, expect the proposal will either fail tonight or get pushed back to be heard by the new council in January. Das Williams, a consultant who has worked on the living wage campaign in Santa Barbara as well as other California cities and counties, said the ad-hoc committee did not consider all of the recommendations they were asked to look at by the coalition. The original ordinance, submitted to the council in June, calls for compliance from not only city employees, but also from businesses that have contracts with the city valuing at least $20,000 in the first contract year or $10,000 in subsequent years. “The ad-hoc committee only examined temporary employees and city employees – they didn’t tackle contractors, city subsidies or any other options,” Williams said. “We’re going to attempt to have the matter deferred for the future when that’s able to be studied.” Marty Bloom, a city council member who has been supportive of the ordinance, will take over as mayor in January. The council will consider the ordinance at City Hall, located at 735 Anacapa Street in downtown Santa Barbara. Board of Supervisors Rejects Raise The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors decided not to give themselves a raise at last Tuesday’s meeting, for the first time in four years. The decision passed unanimously. Board members said the county’s economic outlook was poor and it would not be appropriate to give themselves the approximate 4.4 percent raise at this time. Four years ago, the board approved an 18 percent raise after declining any increases for years. Last year, they approved a 4.2 percent raise. Supervisors currently make $76,856 per year, while the acting chair makes $78,380. Project Area Committee The Project Area Committee for the Isla Vista redevelopment plan, along with officials from Santa Barbara County, I.V. Recreation and Parks District and UCSB, will hold an informational meeting on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. in the University Religious Center. The meeting is intended to help the I.V. community learn about the Master Plan process, its background and the upcoming design workshop. The PAC is made up of one residential tenant, one residential owner and two business owners, as well as representatives from nine I.V. and UCSB groups. The PAC will make recommendations to the county regarding the redevelopment plan. Anyone with questions about the meeting can contact Jamie Goldstein, in the county’s Planning and Development Dept. at 884-8050. The URC is located at 777 Camino Pescadero. -Marisa Lagos :nav Source: http://www.ucsbdailynexus.com/news/2001/1882.html