A Times Editorial

Timing of wage plan is suspect

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 30, 2000

There are certain things you can count on this time of year:

Thunderstorms.

Peaches and Silver Queen corn arriving at produce stands.

Football fans predicting the Bucs will make it to the Super Bowl.

And, at least every other August, incumbent politicians using their elected offices to gain favor with as many groups of people as possible.

The most recent example of the tradition is a wide-eyed suggestion being pushed by Hernando County Commissioners Pat Novy and Paul Sullivan. They have advocated raising the minimum wage for county employees to $8 per hour. Of the county's approximately 560 employees, 56 full-time and part-time workers earn less than that now, some no more than a remarkably low $6.15 an hour. Sullivan and Novy propose boosting all of them to at least $8 in one fell swoop.

That sounds like a good idea; after all, who would begrudge giving the lowest-paid a little extra in their paychecks?

But when you look at the proposal more closely, it's laden with problems.

First, it will be expensive. Human Resources Director Barbara Dupre said Friday the cost could reach $2.5-million. That's almost 18-percent of the county's current total payroll of $14-million.

Second, it offers an exclusive benefit to a select group of people, which is patently unfair to those who have no opportunity to better their financial situation. For example, a person who started work for the county five years ago at a wage of $6.15 an hour, and patiently waited for his annual wages that now bring him up to $8.10 an hour, would not get an increase under this latest proposal.

Finally, Sullivan's question "When is the board going to take care of" the below-$8-an-hour workers, deserves an answer.

It's not the board's job to take care of its workers. It's the board's job to use the money we give them and use it wisely and efficiently. That means treating all of its employees fairly, offering them competitive wages and benefits, and giving them the equipment and training they need to do their jobs.

People make employment decisions every day, and those who have accepted the lowest-paying jobs know their financial circumstances and job skills better than anyone else. Often those who accept such jobs are willing to accept less pay because they want less responsibility. In many cases, that person's employment is supplemental to their family's primary income. In still other situations, the pay is simply competitive to what the private sector is paying for that particular job.

Sullivan and Novy, who each make $44,137 a year, should remember that $6.15 is still $1 more an hour than the federal minimum wage. They also should heed the counsel of their colleagues on the commission, Nancy Robinson, Chris Kingsley and Bobbi Mills, who have rejected the idea, at least so far. Kingsley says that making such a decision without having data to justify it is "arbitrary."

It's not only arbitrary; it's irresponsible for Sullivan and Novy to begin such an emotional debate without having documentation to prove their point, or a plan that addresses all hourly employees' wages.

The two commissioners waited until six weeks before their primary elections to express their concern about low-paid county employees. That timing speaks for itself.

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