DeKalb moving to “living wage” for workers

The goal is to eventually get all county workers close to the annual salary the county considers a living wage. Doing so, though, separates DeKalb from the other large governments in metro Atlanta and has drawn the ire of DeKalb commissioners.

Commissioners had called instead for a one-time bonus, so the county has time to review whether it can maintain the additional cost next year.

A preliminary study by Georgia Tech predicts that the county might fall $8 million short on projected property tax collections this year.

“This is a political attempt to gain favor over being prudent,” Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton said. “There is too much we don’t know.”

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology program calculates “living wages” across the country based on estimate for the minimum cost of living for different-sized families.

The $18.14 hourly rate in DeKalb is for a family of two adults and one child – with only one person working – because that is the most common family makeup of county workers, said Human Resources Director Benita Ransom.

The wage is above the state median salary of $15.64, according Georgia Budget and Policy Institute figures, but below the average $20.68 hourly salary for local government workers, according to the state Department of Labor.

But it is most unique in that the similarly-sized Cobb and Gwinnett counties, as well as the city of Atlanta, do not have counterpart minimum or “living wage.”

Gwinnett, like DeKalb, has not given workers raises since 2009. Most Cobb and Atlanta employees saw their pay increase last year.

“It might be there are people out there whose skills aren’t worth $37,000,” said Kelly McCutchen, president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. “They might deserve an increase but best case it would be merit-based or at least based on their skills, or you’re going to get unintended consequences.”

Commissioner Jeff Rader had proposed the one-time bonus so the county could research potential repercussions.

DeKalb does not have a formal “living wage” policy, he said, because the county has never examined its staffing levels at a deep enough level.

A close look at why DeKalb has 6,300 workers while Cobb has 4,200, for instance, could show DeKalb how to restructure in a way that adds value to the lower-level jobs.

“If we can invest in workers and technology, so that instead of three- or four-man crews we have two, it might justify those workers earning close to $20 an hour,” Rader said. “We have to provide services to taxpayers that are the most efficient or the most productive.”

Few residents complain to commissioners about sanitation workers, who make up nearly 20 percent of those who would benefit from the raise.

In fact, taxpayers who show up to complain about taxes or government services most often compliment the county-run curbside operation as one of DeKalb’s best departments.

Those same workers have been showing up at county meetings, seeking support for their effort to unionize over safety and wage concerns.

Workers said they unanimously support a raise instead of a bonus, even if the one-time payment would be more money for the lowest paid workers. A bonus would have been $900 to $1,200 for all of the lower-paid workers, while raises at most will be about $600.

One 13-year veteran driver, DeJuan McDaniels, said he would qualify for the raise, and that his family needed it.

Added Emanuel Kilpatrick, whose three-year tenure also qualifies him for the raise, “The guys do not want the lottery ticket, a one-time deal. We need this money.”