Wilmington staff proposes living-wage pay philosophy tied to 60% AMI; full implementation would cost millions
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Summary
Staff proposed a living-wage policy that sets the minimum city salary to 60% of area median income (about $45,531/year for a single household), which staff estimated would cost roughly $14.6M to implement from the general fund and could require a worst-case tax-rate adjustment equivalent of 4.1¢ if no offsets are found.
City staff proposed a new pay philosophy that would set a municipal "living wage" equal to 60% of area median income (AMI) for New Hanover County and rebase the city’s pay scales from that floor. "We define the living wage as 60% of the area median income," staff said, and gave $45,531 as the annual equivalent for a single-household 60% AMI (about $21.89 per hour at a 2,080-hour year).
Staff said about 13% of the city’s full-time workforce currently earns below that 60% threshold and that raising the floor to that level would require rebasing pay grades and removing some lower pay steps so dollars go to the lowest-paid positions. Staff also proposed a $15,000 cap on any single employee’s increase and said no employee would see a pay cut; vacant positions could be re-evaluated as part of implementation.
HR and finance staff showed job types affected (facility technicians; recycling and trash operators; grounds technicians; public works operators requiring CDLs; administrative support and several police department support roles) and described vacancy challenges in CDL-required positions. Staff said the city runs an in-house CDL training program but that trainees sometimes leave for higher private-sector pay.
On costs, staff called the estimate preliminary but said full implementation would have a general-fund impact of about $14.6M; they described a "worst-case" tax-rate equivalent of about 4.1¢ per $100 of assessed value if offsets are not identified, while staff continued to model phased and middle options. Staff emphasized continued work to refine counts, consider vacant-position realignment, and identify revenue or efficiency offsets before final decisions.
Council members asked for more data on vacancies, how many officers and firefighters live locally, and scenarios showing phased implementation and trade-offs. Staff said they will return with more detailed cost tabulations and implementation scenarios at future budget meetings.