Proposition B will impact city payroll
Minimum wage will increase to $6.50 on Jan. 1.
Published Dec. 5, 2006
The passage of Proposition B on Nov. 7, which will raise Missouri's minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.50 could mean changes for workers and employers across the state starting on Jan. 1.
Although most permanent employees of the city of Columbia are already paid at least $10.31 per hour, the city employs many temporary workers, particularly in the Parks and Recreation Department, who work at the current minimum wage.
The increase could significantly impact the Parks and Recreation budget for the 2007 fiscal year, according to a report prepared by the office of City Manager Bill Watkins for the Columbia City Council, which addresses some of the effects of Proposition B on the city's payroll.
The 2007 Parks and Recreation Department budget was calculated during April and May 2006 and adopted in September, in spite of any forthcoming minimum wage increase.
Recreation Services Manager Gary Ristow said when the budget for 2007 was being prepared, a minimum wage increase was still the stuff of high hopes and campaign promises.
"We're not going to budget for something that may or may not happen," Ristow said.
The report stated that an "across the board" pay increase for temporary workers had been budgeted, and that the planned increase, combined with the careful management of hours worked by temporary employees, should allow Parks and Recreation to foot the bill.
The report stated that the brunt of the impact from Proposition B would fall on the Career Awareness and Related Experience program, which is part of the Parks and Recreation Department.
CARE is an employment education program for young adults ages 14 to 18 that teaches work-related skills and prepares the youths for "real world" situations through trainee programs at participating businesses in both the public and private sectors. CARE trainees are paid minimum wage.
The report stated the CARE program would need an estimated $40,999 to accommodate the minimum wage increase.
City of Columbia Human Resources Director Margrace Buckler said despite the changes in the city budget, the CARE program will change the number of minimum wage workers it employs or the hours trainees work.
"We just don't want to reduce the number of people that can participate in that," Buckler said.
Ristow said the department's budget has run a surplus for several consecutive years and that it expects to have adequate funds to cover the new expenses.
"The temporary people are the backbone of our department in a lot of aspects," Ristow said.
Buckler said the Activity and Recreation Center and the Aquatics programs, also sections of the Parks and Recreation Department that employ many minimum wage workers, would not alter their hiring practices.
"We'll just keep doing what we're doing," Buckler said.