Politics & Government

Greensboro Raises Minimum Wage To $15 Per Hour For City Workers

88.5 WFDD - Public Radio For The Piedmont | By Keri Brown

Published June 20, 2018 at 5:27 PM EDT

The city of Greensboro will increase salaries for many city employees as part of the 2018/2019 budget. DAVID FORD/WFDD

Greensboro City Council has approved a budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

City leaders gave the green light for the $543.5 million budget during a meeting on Tuesday. While property taxes won't increase, the city is raising the water and sewer rate by 3.5 percent for all users. That money will help pay for ongoing improvements and upgrades.

The new budget also includes pay bumps for many city workers. Council approved an average three percent merit increase for eligible employees.

And it's raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour for benefitted workers.

“Poverty issues and addressing issues of housing and affordable housing is a concern of our council and a priority of our council, and so I think this was an effort as well to address our own employees that we are paying and making sure that we are moving folks up into a more livable wage,” says David Parrish, Greensboro City Manager.

The minimum wage increase is expected to impact around 300 city workers. Parrish says the budget fully funds the 2008, 2009 and 2016 bond referenda passed by Greensboro voters.

Earlier this week, Winston-Salem City Council also approved a budget for the new fiscal year. It includes raising the minimum wage for city workers to $12.50 per hour, a ten percent increase.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

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Keri Brown

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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Greensboro Raises Minimum Wage To $15 Per Hour For City Workers

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