The Seal Beach City Council voted 3-1 to give part-time and seasonal city employees a 4.29 percent pay raise Monday night, June 24. Councilman Gary Miller cast the dissenting vote. Mayor Ellery Deaton had an excused absence from the meeting.
Federal law will raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour starting July 1. However, some part-time Seal Beach employees working at pay grade 1, step 1, currently receive less than minimum wage.
To comply with Federal law, the city had to raise those lower pay scales. To keep the scales consistent, the 4.29 percent pay increase applied to all the seaonal employees.
The pay raise will have no impact on the city’s small projected surplus because the was raise accounted for before the 2014-15 budget was discussed, according to Finance Director/Treasurer Victoria Beatley
“The increase will not only ensure that the city falls into compliance with the Minimum Wage Ordinance, but also makes certain that the city will continue to recruit, retain, and motivate experienced, quality part-time employees who are invaluable in the delivery of services to the community,” said Assistant City Manager Patrick Gallegos in his staff report to the council.
The pay raise was originally on the Consent Calendar and would have been approved, but Miller pulled it for further discussion.
Both Miller and Planning Commissioner Robert Goldberg, proposed eliminating the lower pay scales that paid less than the mandated $9 an hour and giving the employees a 1.4 percent pay raise instead.
Goldberg objected to the 4.29 percent pay raise because the city gave civilian staff a 7.9 percent pay raise last year. He said it would cost Seal Beach more than $39,000.
He suggested that the city eliminate step 1 of pay grade 1, eliminating the hourly wage below the required $9 and instead hiring seasonal employees at step two.
Miller made a motion to elminate pay grade 1 and give the part-time employees a 1.4 percent increase. The vote tied at 2-2, with council members Gordon Shanks and David Sloan voting against the proposal. Councilman Michael Levitt supported Miller’s motion.
But the tie vote meant the motion failed.
“Miller’s motion would have saved approximately $26,000, and resulted in more than doubling our projected operating budget surplus (as stated at the budget hearing last week) from approximately $21,000 to $47,000,” Goldberg said.
