Highlights of the August 6, 2024 meeting of the Tompkins County Legislature

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Tompkins County Legislature Commits to Exploring a Local Minimum Wage

The Tompkins County Legislature, with a vote of 11-3 (Legislators Mike Sigler (R-Lansing), Dan Klein (D-Danby), and Mike Lane (D-Dryden) opposed) passed a resolution committing to explore the possibility of establishing a local Tompkins County minimum wage.

The current minimum wage of $15.00 per hour in Tompkins County is set by New York State. A living wage, calculatedby the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as what an individual in a household must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time is estimated at $24.64 per hour for a single adult with no children. Locally, a 2023 reportfrom researchers at the Cornell University ILR School estimated $18.45 per hour as the living wage for such an individual - the local calculation has not yet been updated in 2024. Roughly 18,000 workers living in Tompkins County earn less than the living wage, according to the report.

After several amendments, the Legislature's final resolution directs the Housing and Economic Development Committee, key County staff, and community stakeholders to explore the impact of a local minimum wage higher than the New York State minimum wage. Calculations and methodologies for annual adjustments, enforcement provisions, and any exemptions or special considerations deemed necessary are to be explored. $50,000 will be set aside to hire a consulting firm to study the issue. The resolution was amended from a previous version that called for the drafting of a local law to be considered. Tompkins would be the first New York State County to establish a local minimum wage.

Legislator Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) spoke in favor of studying the issue, "we need to engage in a study to figure out the best path forward for the people that we serve in this community." Legislators discussed how such a significant initiative might impact staff time, with County Administrator Lisa Holmes detailing major initiatives currently under way through County Administration, asking what other priorities should fall off to accommodate this if it were to be started before 2025. Holmes advocated for a consulting firm to be considered to alleviate the burden on staff. Legislator Mezey shared that the intent is to make it less of a staff directive "and more of a responsibility of the Committee" to work with staff and stakeholders bringing people together to address the resolution.

Legislators Veronica Pillar (D-Ithaca) and Shawna Black (D-Ithaca) reminded Legislators that this initiative reflects the strategic priority "Economic Opportunity and Quality of Life" from the 2024-2029 Strategic Operations Planand the commitment to living wage jobs in the community.

Chair Dan Klein (D-Danby) cited the uncertainty of this being allowed under New York State law as his opposition to the resolution, arguing that Tompkins County should not have to be a "test case" on whether this is possible. He instead advocated for asking New York State to allow the County to raise the minimum wage.

Legislator Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton) spoke about the hardships that he feels may be faced in his rural community if a higher minimum wage were to be instituted across the County. Shurtleff detailed his own business dealings, with operations and customer bases spanning several counties. He argued that the costs passed onto consumers by higher wages would give competitors in other counties a leg up. Shurtleff also relayed his experience on the boards of directors for Groton-area not-for-profits, including the Groton Community Healthcare Center which operates an 80-bed nursing home facility with around 100 employees. He stated that it would be unsustainable to raise the minimum wage for such a facility while continuing to offer the services it does on already tight margins with insurance reimbursement rates. Shurtleff also commented on the issue of wage compression, the argument that if lower-paid workers' wages are raised, higher-paid workers must have their wages adjusted to compensate for the skill or experience gap between positions, further raising costs.

Several members and supporters of local unions spoke in favor of the County moving forward on this issue during privilege of the floor for the public. Speakers shared stories of their work in Tompkins County and how higher wages would contribute to their quality of life.

Legislators and Human Rights Commissioners Denounce Racist Harassment

Legislators spoke out against a spate of racist incidents that spurred a recent lettersigned by dozens of local leaders and officials. Tompkins County Human Rights Commissioner Peaches Gillette detailed racial slurs recently targeted at her grandsons at Stewart Park, speaking about her desire to see bystanders intervene and the community to come together to address hate. Gillette described the "diminishing the quality of life for people of color" and the increase in boldness of racism that she has seen. Chair of the Tompkins County Human Rights Commission Peyi Soyinka-Airewele also spoke out about racist harassment that she has faced recently, describing the "factionalizing" of people and groups who feel emboldened to act with hate. Soyinka-Airewele encouraged the Legislature to use their voices and positions of leadership to help make a change.

Legislator Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) spoke out about racism and prejudice, "This is the life that people of color, especially Black people live on a daily basis in this community and it's very real, it's very frightening, it's very scary. It doesn't change, it doesn't stop, it exists all the time. More often than not it exists behind our backs… what we've seen over the last eight years is that it's become more and more in our face… people feel they can just say these things and it's okay, when people who look like them don't shoot it down, it just keeps happening… I encourage you all, when you see these behaviors, when you hear about these behaviors, to get involved and say something, because if you don't it just continues. The only way it ever changes is if the entire community says to folks who engage in these behaviors that this isn't okay."

Legislator Mike Lane (D-Dryden) called the incident at Stewart Park "disgusting." Legislator Veronica Pillar (D-Ithaca) thanked the Commissioners for speaking while co-signing what Legislator Brooks said about making it "not normal" to use hate speech in our community.

Tompkins County Administrator Lisa Holmes thanked the Office of Human Rights for mobilizing community leaders to sign onto the letter denouncing racism "I'm glad to see local government leaders and others exercising our power and our voice to speak out."

Among Other Business

A resolution passed 9-5 (Legislators Greg Mezey (D-Dryden), Mike Sigler (R-Lansing), Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca), Randy Brown (R-Newfield), and Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton) opposed) adopting a local law that would allow the County to override the tax levy limit for 2025 if necessary. County Attorney Maury Josephson provided a brief overview on the procedure allowing this resolution to be revisited by being "renewed" according to Robert's Rules of Order. The measure failed in a previous meeting of the Legislature. Legislator Deborah Dawson (D-Lansing) who was not present when the resolution was first considered, moved the renewed resolution. Dawson stated that this "is a fiscal best practice" and reminded Legislators that this does not commit the County to exceeding the tax cap, it simply allows it to happen if necessary. According to New York State, the "tax cap" is currently calculated at 4.45%. Legislator Greg Mezey argued that raising taxes contributes to unaffordability and that tough decisions would need to be made by the Legislature in the event that the cap would be approached during the budget process.