City Council Agenda and Packet 2017 03 14 SP

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SUBJECT: DATE: DISCUSSION/DIRECTION — LIVABLE WAGE OVERVIEW AND OPTIONS MARCH 14, 2017 PAGE 4 OF 12 o Desire to pay wages similar to others in Boulder County o Decrease turn -over by paying better wages. o Increase retention of employees by increasing wages. o Concern that we may not be competitive in the market when recruiting for employees. o Would like to see more employees live in Louisville. o Other... • The City's current Pay Philosophy is "The City of Louisville pays market wages as compared to our defined labor market (Brighton, Broomfield, Commerce City, Englewood, Erie, Golden, Lafayette, Littleton, and Longmont) while considering the City's budgetary and financial condition. We reward performance through merit increases and maintain an effective and efficient workforce through progressive retention efforts." o What pay philosophy would City Council suggest as we consider livable wage alternatives? • Should we consider different labor market cities? Rather than implementing a livable wage, should the City could consider changing its labor market city comparisons to include those cities that use a livable wage, such as Boulder, Boulder County or Denver? • Which categories of employees would be applicable for the livable wage? Full- time, benefited part-time (30 hours and above), all part-time/variable, and/or seasonal employees? • Should livable wage apply to contracts? • Which method should Louisville consider to calculate livable wage? FPG, SSS or others mentioned in the SSS report by the Colorado Center on Law and Poverty (beginning on pg. 14 of the report)? And if the SSS was selected, would the City use the average of a single adult and a family of 4 criteria that is similar to the City of Boulder's approach? • Is there a phase-in approach staff should consider? • Are there other benefits the City should offer to part-time/variable employees (working less than 30 hours per week) temporary, and/or seasonal employees? • The perception of "compression" issues is likely to be a factor the City of Louisville would encounter if implementing a livable wage philosophy. How would City Council like us to address this issue? • Is this a community conversation or a policy decision by City Council? • Does City Council see a need to consider a new funding mechanism should the City adopt a livable wage philosophy and what are their concerns, if any, about sustainability for implementing a livable wage approach? • Would we approach this decision by Ordinance? If yes, what "exit ramps" should we incorporate into the ordinance if future funding is unavailable to sustain this effort? Reflecting the questions above, staff evaluated the pros and cons of six (6) livable wage options for consideration, as well as ideas for implementation and very preliminary CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION