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Debate Brews Over Proposal On Living Wage
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His staff is assessing the fiscal effects of the legislation, but gathering numbers from county subcontractors may be difficult.
"It's just so hard to make a decision without all the facts," Ulman said. "I'm keeping an open mind."
Council member Greg Fox (R-Western Howard) said the bill sends the "wrong message" to the business community.
"If it's the right thing to do, why are there so many exemptions?" he said. "It is more of a symbolic than substantive measure."
Council members Courtney Watson (D-Northeast County) and Mary Kay Sigaty (D-West Columbia) haven't taken positions on the legislation.
Sigaty said one of her concerns is that the county has wage categories that pay hourly rates that are lower than the proposed living wage, though she said there may be no government workers in those categories.
Like Fox, she has questions about exemptions listed in the bill.
"We are exempting nonprofits from paying a living wage to their employees," she said. "Why is it just for-profit companies that have to pay a living wage?"
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