South Fulton to consider $20 hourly wage for staff

South Fulton’s elected leaders are interested in upping the minimum wage to $20 an hour for city employees.

City council members voted Tuesday to consider setting a minimum hourly wage of at least $20 following recommendations from a pay study set to start in fall, according to a new release.

The city currently has 30 employees with an average of $16 an hour, according to a memo from the city’s finance director Karen Slaton-Dixon. The increase to $20 per hour would add an extra roughly $250,000 in base salary requirements. When adding taxes and retirement, that number increases to about $300,000.

“In essence this resolution could increase payroll by 15%” or by $6.1 million when taking into account all employees, according to Slaton-Dixon.

Mayor Khalid Kamau, who sponsored the legislation, wrote it has been difficult to retain workers — especially in roles that interact with the public.

“The fight for $15 has moved to the fight for $20,” said Kamau.

Councilman Jaceey Sebastian wrote that he’d be happy with upping it to $25. The council voted 5-1, with Councilwoman Helen Willis voting against the measure, according to the news release. Willis argued that they should wait for the results of the study before supporting any rate.