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Committee hears wage-equity briefings; providers urge bigger, predictable pay increases and parity with city roles
Summary
City staff and King County presented findings on human-services provider pay: HSD reported roughly $4.2M added to provider contracts in 2024 (a 2% increase) with a sample showing 75% of sampled positions received raises (average 8%); providers told the committee that modest, one-time increases are insufficient and asked for multiyear predictable funding and parity with comparable city positions.
The Human Services, Labor & Economic Development Committee spent the bulk of its Feb. 20 meeting on wage equity for human-services contracts, hearing briefings from City Council central staff, the Human Services Department (HSD), King County, and a panel of nonprofit providers.
Jennifer Lebrecht, City Council central staff, reviewed the legislative history tied to the University of Washington wage study and noted prior council actions, including a 2% provider-pay increase in the 2024 adopted budget and another 2% included in the 2026 budget. Lebrecht distinguished inflationary contract adjustments required by municipal code from discretionary wage-equity increases and cited the UW study recommendations that informed council discussion.
HSD staff presented findings from the department's 2024 provider-pay report. Owen Capis and Tanya Kim said HSD identified 244 contracts across 148 agencies that received provider-pay…
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