The minimum wage went up 50 cents to $16.50 on Jan. 1.
Given the City of Manteca only has a portion of its 450 fulltime workers that are part-time that have what they are paid tied to the minimum wage, you might think the impact might be minimal.
The city has roughly 100 employees that are part-time.
Like most government agencies, there are steps in the salary ranges for the six categories that start at the absolute minimum hourly rate.
For example a lifeguard, scorekeeper/timer for recreation sports, or fire reserve starting out with the City of Manteca will now earn $16.50 per hour.
Those positions have four more steps that after five years of service will take them up to $19.44 an hour.
Each time the minimum wage goes up — this year it was 50- cents — all five steps go up by that much per hour.
But that is only part of the story.
An increase in minimum wage also bumps up the pay in 28 other job categories under the city policy adopted so the city can stay somewhat competitive in a market where fast food workers under state law can’t make less than $20 an hour.
The Jan. 1 bump means part-time parks and street maintenance workers as well as kennel assistants will now start at $18.10 an hour and go up as high as $22 an hour.
Just like with the private sector, minimum wage hikes eventually bump up the starting pay — plus attached steps — for fulltime workers.
The most direct impact on city residents is through recreation fees given the charge for participation in various programs typically reflects upwards of 65 percent of the cost of that program being offered.
The California minimum wage had been $8 an hour for six years until the state legislature adopted a measure that took it up to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2022. The first step was increasing it to $9 an hour on Jan. 1, 2014.
After reaching $15 an hour, the law called for minimum wage to be adjusted based on inflation going forward.
The inflation rate for California was 3.18 percent last year.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
