Council discusses impact of $15 wage

If the federal minimum wage increased, Jay County officials want to be ready.

County auditor Anna Culy brought up the topic to Jay County Council on Wednesday. 

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said, addressing the national proposal for a $15 minimum wage. “If it does go through … there probably needs to be some sort of adjustment.”

There hasn’t been a federal minimum wage adjustment in America since 2009, when it was raised from $6.55 per hour to the current $7.25 per hour.

A jump to $10 or even $12 minimum wage would not impact local government workers, but a $15 minimum wage would, Culy explained.

Currently, the county’s lowest paying job is $12.10 per hour. There are at least two other classifications that are below $15 an hour as well.

“I’m not trying to get into a political debate, I’m just saying it’s been talked about, it’s something that we cannot completely ignore,” Culy said.

Council member Ted Champ responded, “No, I don’t think we’re going to ignore it, but I don’t think they have the votes to go to $15.”

The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon originally had language including a minimum wage bump when it was originally introduced. (However, in order to gain enough support for the bill, Democrats removed the provision that called for a federal minimum-wage increase to $15 hourly by 2025.)

Still, another proposal could appear again at the U.S. Capitol at some point for approval. 

Several council members voiced a need for a minimum wage increase to some extent Wednesday.

Council member Faron Parr said after the meeting $15 does “seem like a lot,” although he advocated for that amount jumping to around $9 or $10.

“I mean, really, how it’s gotten by so long at $7.25, it’s like, you can’t hire anybody at $7.25,” he said.

Council member Mike Rockwell also said after the meeting that the minimum wage should be tied to inflation and adjusted as needed.

“And that would fix it for the long term, not have this every 10 years and have this big fight about it,” he said.

Despite discussion, council took no immediate action on the matter.

Council also appropriated $5,000 for Jay County Humane Society to pay for a rendering of its proposed new facility. (Commissioners agreed to give the organization the funding at the end of February.)

In other business, council members, Jeanne Houchins, Matt Minnich, Ray Newton, Amy Runyon Barrett, Rockwell, Parr and Champ:

•Made the following additional appropriations: $300,000 for coronavirus-related equipment, including a $149,000 body scanner for Jay County Jail; $26,344.75 to Jay County Fairgrounds for the northern restroom construction project and $23,075.76 for Jay Emergency Medical Service’s new ventilator and LUCAS chest compression system (the department bought two last year with CARES Act funding).

•Transferred the following: $497.50 from the travel and mileage fund to computer maintenance fund for Jay County Prosecutor’s Office; $2.30 from Social Security to Public Employees’ Retirement Fund for Jay County Community Corrections; $2,500 from repair buildings and structures to machinery and equipment and office supplies for Jay County Courthouse.

•Appointed Minnich as the council representative at Jay County Plan Commission meetings.