© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Columbia City Council To Vote On Minimum Wage For City Employees

Columbia City Council will vote tonight on the city budget.

The city is considering raising the minimum wage for city employees to $15 an hour.

“Part of our strategic plan is to achieve social equity. All of the work people who do for the city is valuable,” ward 2 councilmember Mike Trapp said. “So, we should look to set an example and make sure we pay our workers enough to support a family.”

City Council is also considering enacting a “move to the middle”. This means every employee who has worked for the city for at least 5 years would be moved up to the middle of the pay scale if they currently earn below that mark.

The police and fire departments would take funding cuts to pay for these pay raises, Trapp said. But, they also have the most tenured employees, who could benefit from the “move to the middle”.

“For a difficult budget year, I think this budget- while painful in some areas- funds necessary services and does right by our own workforce,” Trapp said. “And those are important values that most of us ran on.”

Community members are invited to attend the city council meeting to raise any questions or concerns they may have.