Title
Resolution to Exempt Human Services Nonprofits from Chapter 23 of the City Code: Living Wage Requirements in City Contracts and Grants, for the Remainder of FY2013
Memorandum
During the recent contract amendment process for the FY2013 Coordinated Funding Program Operations grants, staff received its first formal request to waive the City’s living wage requirements due to economic hardship. While numerous nonprofit providers have indicated their long-standing concerns with this City ordinance, an effort to request exemption specifically for human services nonprofits has not previously been documented.
Certainly, the nonprofit community agrees with City policymakers that the philosophical underpinnings of the living wage policy are sound - that we seek to ensure economic prosperity and self-sufficiency for our community members. However, the unintended consequences of this policy as written, along with the worst economic environment seen since the Great Depression, have led numerous nonprofit organizations to struggle with its implementation.
Specifically, City of Ann Arbor living wage rates have increased 18% since 2008 (from $10.33 to $12.17), while the City’s investment in human services has decreased 11% (from $1.39 million to $1.24 million) - and at a time when demand for services is increasing steadily and external resources have also seen sharp declines.
Staff
Mary Jo Callan, Director, Office of Community & Economic Development (OCED)
Andrea Plevek, Human Services Policy Specialist, OCED
Body
Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor adopted a Living Wage Ordinance in 2001 with the intent to, among other purposes, “permit hardship exemptions for certain nonprofit employers from this chapter;”
Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor living wage rates for employees with benefits has increased from $10.33 per hour in 2008 to $12.17 per hour in 2012, an increase of 18%;
Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor investment in human services nonprofits has declined from appro...
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