South Fulton’s elected leaders are interested in upping the minimum wage to $20 an hour for city employees.
City council members voted Tuesday to consider setting a minimum hourly wage of at least $20 following recommendations from a pay study set to start in fall, according to a new release.
The city currently has 30 employees with an average of $16 an hour, according to a memo from the city’s finance director Karen Slaton-Dixon. The increase to $20 per hour would add an extra roughly $250,000 in base salary requirements. When adding taxes and retirement, that number increases to about $300,000.
“In essence this resolution could increase payroll by 15%” or by $6.1 million when taking into account all employees, according to Slaton-Dixon.
Mayor Khalid Kamau, who sponsored the legislation, wrote it has been difficult to retain workers — especially in roles that interact with the public.
“The fight for $15 has moved to the fight for $20,” said Kamau.
Councilman Jaceey Sebastian wrote that he’d be happy with upping it to $25. The council voted 5-1, with Councilwoman Helen Willis voting against the measure, according to the news release. Willis argued that they should wait for the results of the study before supporting any rate.
The city’s last wage study was in 2019. At that time, officials set the minimum wage at $15.
Credit: WSBTV Videos
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