Pasadena continues to move toward a minimum wage increase, but has yet to determine what that increase might be.
The City Council’s Economic Development and Technology committee on Thursday decided to host four hearings in the near future that would give stakeholders a chance to express their vision of a “livable wage” in Pasadena. The dates have yet to be set.
The first hearing will bring in experts to give the council a “baseline” understanding of the topic. The committee decided that subsequent hearings should take place in different parts of the city, with separate meetings for advocates and for the business community.
On Thursday, most of the speakers landed on the side of increasing wages to $15 per hour by 2020, with only Pasadena Chamber of Commerce President Paul Little calling for more restraint.
“We are not Los Angeles,” Little said. “Glendale will be sending fruit baskets in our direction if we do this.”
Little said the council needs to conduct their own study on how a minimum wage change might affect Pasadena’s businesses, rather than relying on the work done in Los Angeles and by the county.
About 14,000 people who live in Pasadena also work in the city, according to a staff report. Economic Development Manager Eric Duyshart estimated about 30 percent of those residents would benefit from a minimum wage increase. Other cities, like Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco have already increased their minimum wage. Locally, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Long Beach are investigating similar ordinances.
The committee agreed that any minimum wage ordinance must include an enforcement element, after speakers explained that wage theft decimates many of Los Angeles County’s minimum wage families.
“Ordinances that we don’t have any confidence that we’ll enforce, probably aren’t worth passing,” said Councilman Andy Wilson.
The topic will return at the committee’s next meeting.
