The minimum wage debate

COEUR d'ALENE - A subcommittee will decide Monday what role the city of Coeur d'Alene will play in the ongoing minimum wage debate.

Raise CDA - a group spearheaded by former legislative candidate Anne Nesse and Bob Bennett, former North Idaho College president - failed to meet a May 1 deadline to provide the necessary signatures for a minimum wage increase initiative to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. During Monday's general services committee meeting, the group will ask the committee's voting members - city councilors Steve Adams, Ron Edinger, and Amy Evans - to create a voluntary minimum wage increase program and seek input from Coeur d'Alene voters.

Nesse told The Press a number of religious representatives, teachers, social workers and other concerned citizens will be in attendance at the meeting to show their support for Raise CDA's two requests. The first request is for an advisory vote to gauge the public's support on the issue.

City Attorney Warren Wilson wrote in a staff report to the committee that language for the advisory vote must be submitted to the Kootenai County Elections Office by Sept. 14. The outcome of the potential vote, he added, would not be binding or require the city to take action.

In addition to the advisory vote, the general services committee could vote to direct city employees to create a voluntary program for business owners following the proposals in the failed initiative. Nesse, in an email to The Press, called the voluntary program a "motivational law."

"It is uncertain how a voluntary program would be established," Wilson wrote. "However, if it is the council's will, staff can continue to work with Nesse to draft regulations, resolution and/or a program that would meet the council's desire."

However, city employees have recommended that the committee take the third option and table the issue until after the Nov. 3 election - when residents of McCall will decide whether to raise the minimum wage in their city.

"This will allow the city of Coeur d'Alene to witness any court outcomes related to the municipal authority to enact regulations outside of the federally set minimum wage," Wilson wrote.

In a certificate of review sent to Nesse regarding her proposed initiative, Wilson wrote that the city legal department believes Idaho Code would prohibit cities from setting their own minimum wage. State code, he added, requires Idaho to "conform and track" with the federal minimum wage.

Nesse and her group are pursuing alternatives to a ballot initiative because of new legislation, House Bill 216, that becomes law on July 1. House Bill 216 establishes statewide guidelines for how cities and other applicable entities handle referendums and initiatives.

The most substantial change to the code is that referendums and initiatives can only be brought to the public on odd-numbered years.

Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d'Alene, and Sen. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, were the only legislators to vote against the bill. Souza told The Press on Friday that although she opposes a minimum wage increase, she feels it's important to make petitioning the government through initiatives an easier process.

"This (bill) was taking it and saying 'No you must wait an extra election cycle' and I don't agree with that," Souza said. "If there's a motivating occurrence in a community, the time to deal with it is when the topic is on the minds of all the citizens, not two years later."

Local business owners have mixed feelings about the issue.

With more than 40,000 customers walking through the doors of Figpickels Toy Emporium each summer, keeping well-trained employees working at the business in downtown Coeur d'Alene is constantly on owner Brett Sommer's mind. Between Figpickels and Sommer's other downtown business, Mrs. Honeypeeps Sweet Shop, Sommer has 19 employees during the busy summer season. The number decreases each fall when business slows down and his employees return to school.

To keep his "customer service rockstars" coming back each summer season, Sommer pays a starting wage of $8.50. That's $1.25 higher than the state and federal minimum wage of $7.25, a number Sommer considers embarrassing for the Gem State.

"Kids these days are in a pickle," Sommer said. "They're being impacted by the minimum wage here."

But Sommer said he also sees the other side of the issue, and knows that small businesses in Coeur d'Alene are struggling. When asked about the upcoming general services decision, he encouraged the community to start thinking outside of the box.

"Let's find a balance," Sommer said. "These kids need more money, but it's not right to punish small businesses. Is it possible that there could be different wage tiers for different-sized companies?"

Sommer is a member of the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce, along with more than 1,000 other business owners in the city. Chamber CEO Steve Wilson said Raise CDA made a presentation to the organization's public policy committee and asked for official support.

Although Wilson said the group did a good job presenting their case, there was a "resounding lack of support" for publicly endorsing a minimum wage increase. The committee also didn't recommend the matter be taken to the chamber's board, he added, primarily because there are too many uncertainties associated with a wage increase at the city level.

"They're very sympathetic to the social issues that were raised," Wilson said. "But is it the role of a city government to regulate that?"

On a personal level, Wilson, a former hotel manager, said the market takes care of itself.

"If you want good help, you pay the wage that's required to get good help," Wilson said. "Those that do well in the service industry are those who work hard, and they're not at minimum wage."