Redwood City – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a resolution that increases the base wage for regular County employees to $30 an hour.
The move is intended to align salaries with what a task force determined to be a “livable wage” that considers benefits received by County employees, among other factors.
“Every one of our county employees greatly contributes to the work we do to serve our residents. As a county of immense wealth, this is a huge step in valuing all of our employees and making sure they can continue to afford to live in our county,” Supervisor Noelia Corzo said.
The resolution, passed 5-0, immediately raises the base wage for eight workers in two classifications, Office Assistant I and Medical Services Assistant I. Additionally, departments are increasing wages to $30 an hour for 71 employees across all classifications whose current salary steps are below $30.
Due to the high cost of living, the County convened a task force to determine a base wage a County worker would need in a two-income household with one child. They arrived at $29.76 an hour, rounded up to $30, by evaluating the cost of food, child care, health care, housing, transportation, taxes and other costs.
The estimated monthly and salary benefits cost to adjust the Office Assistant I and Medical Services Assistant I classifications to a flat rate of $30 an hour is $1,319, or $15,830 annually. The estimated monthly and salary benefits cost for the step adjustments is $27,235, or $326,827 annually.
The salary increases do not impact extra-help classifications, which provide temporary employment.
Access the full report to the Board of Supervisors.
Michelle Durand
Chief Communications Officer
mdurand@smcgov.org