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Council flags prevailing-wage changes as a risk to affordable projects
Summary
Councilors urged flagging proposals to expand prevailing-wage rules, saying calculation methods can rapidly increase municipal project costs and make some affordable-housing projects financially unviable.
Councilors raised concerns that proposed changes to prevailing-wage calculations could raise the cost of municipal projects and render certain affordable-housing projects unaffordable. The mayor told the group the council should “put a star on” prevailing-wage changes so Keizer can tell its story if the scope of prevailing-wage accounting expands during the session.
A mayoral comment illustrated the risk: “The whole thing then jumped to prevailing wage, which meant it was no longer affordable,” referencing how adding prevailing-wage requirements to some funding streams can increase project costs. Councilors asked that prevailing-wage changes be flagged in the city’s priority packet so staff and councilors can testify or coordinate with other cities if bills surface.
