The San Antonio City Council will vote today on a new $2.5 budget that includes an increase in the minimum wage paid to city employees. The increase was among last minute adjustments made to the proposed budget.
Right now the lowest wage paid to City of San Antonio employees is $13 an hour. But on Wednesday most council members agreed on raising the minimum to 13.75 per hour.. The increase means employees who now earn about $27,000 a year will earn $28,600 a year.
The COPS Metro Alliance has been pushing for an even higher minimum hourly wage of $15 dollars. Father Brian Christopher, a leader with Cops Metro says $13.75 is a step in the right direction towards a living wage. “Towards a situation where people can support their families and still be good parents,” he adds.
To pay for the increase, District 6 Councilman Ray Lopez agreed to dropping the $250,000 renovation of the Westside Education Training Center which is run by the Alamo Colleges and provides job training. Lopez believes the money for the renovation can be made available later and enable the project to start in six months. “I can delay that, and as long as I can have a shot at refunding in the mid-year, I’ll go ahead and put that towards the salary stack.”
The increase in minimum pay would affect about 1200 city employees and is not guaranteed for those employed by outside contractors working on city projects.
