ALAMEDA — The minimum wage across California will climb to $15 an hour within five years under state law, but city of Alameda leaders aim to reach that threshold as soon as this January.
Their effort comes as Emeryville, Sunnyvale and Mountain View already have the $15 minimum in place. Workers in Berkeley will see it take effect in October. Alameda’s current minimum wage is $10.50 for businesses with less than 25 employees and $11 for those with more.
“I think this is something that we need to take care of, and we need to take care of as soon as possible,” City Councilman Jim Oddie said.
The council took up the issue April 17, when it asked Alameda staffers to review what other cities have done, gather community input and report back.
“We are behind,” said Vice Mayor Malia Vella, who wants a potential ordinance available for a council vote as early as September. “Our neighbors have significantly higher wage increases planned and a faster track to get there.”
Among the issues the council must consider as part of adopting a minimum wage are whether it should apply to all employers regardless of the size of their business; and whether some businesses could be exempted, as well as whether the ordinance should take into account medical benefits.
Oakland, Richmond, San Leandro and El Cerrito also have adopted minimum wage ordinances. Oakland’s ordinance was a ballot initiative that voters approved in 2014. The others were passed by city councils.
While the minimum wage in local cities varies, all will reach $15 an hour before the statewide minimum kicks in, except for Oakland, which will reach it at the same time as the state law, said Debbie Potter, Alameda’s community development director.
Oakland has been phasing in minimum wage increases, with the current rate of $13.23.
Most cities went through a lengthy approval process, including public hearings, with the average period between approval and the law taking effect ranging from two months to more than eight months. If the Alameda council green-lights a minimum wage in September, it would take effect Jan. 1.
“The more we can provide decent jobs here, the less people we have getting into cars or onto buses and leaving the Island,” Vella said.
Mayor Trish Spencer cast the sole “no” vote on moving forward with drafting an ordinance, saying she wanted to know more about how it might affect small businesses, as well as nonprofits.
Councilwoman Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft urged caution. “We need to do it right,” she said. “We can’t just jump in.”
Currently, the city does not have any full-time employees who earn less than $15 an hour. Nearly 90 percent of those who make less than that amount are part-timers with the Alameda Recreation and Park Department. The others work at the Alameda Free Library.
As a result, raising the minimum wage could cause a jump in fees for services and programs at the two departments, Potter said.
Councilman Frank Matarrese asked city officials to look at Burlingame, Menlo Park and San Bruno as places that could be considered similar to Alameda before coming back with a possible ordinance.
“It’s high real-estate, high-tech, but they still have day care centers, they still have care centers, skilled nursing centers that provide us with a model that might work in Alameda,” Matarrese said.