A preliminary draft of the impact study indicates the following

* At $9.00 per hour with benefits, 81 individuals will receive an average increase of $6,011 each in compensation for a total cost to the City of $486,886.

* At $10.00 per hour with benefits, 138 individuals will receive an average increase of $4,572 each in compensation for a total cost to the City of $631,016.

* At $11.42 per hour with benefits, 231 individuals will receive an average increase of $4,0731 each in compensation for a total cost to the City of $940,981.

In comparison to other Bay Area cities with Living Wage ordinances, the levels are:

* Berkeley, $9.13 per hour with benefits.

* Oakland, $9.75 per hour with benefits.

* San Francisco, $10.00 per hour with benefits.

The Living Wage Committee recommended the following:

* Persons covered: City of Richmond employees and all employees/businesses receiving direct or indirect subsidies from the City of Richmond or its Redevelopment Agency, including contractors, subcontractors, or those leasing property or otherwise benefiting from public land owned by the city.

* The wage should be set above the poverty level.

* There should be an annual cost of living adjustment.

* There must be monitoring and enforcement.

* The Committee voted against any reference to collective bargaining.

It was announced at the City Council meeting that Vision 2000 had collected 10,000 signatures to put the Living Wage measure on the March, 2002 ballot.

I AM LOOKING FOR INPUT FROM CONSTITUENTS:

* Do you favor a Living Wage Ordinance, and if so, what hourly rate should it be?

* If you favor a Living Wage, from what existing programs should the City of Richmond take money to pay the cost of a Living Wage?