North Cook News

Village of Wilmette Minimum Wage & Paid Sick Leave Working Group met January 8.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Members Present: John Jacoby, Chair

Brian Fabes

John Haser

Beth Lambrecht

George Rafeedie

Laura Saleh

Therese Steinken

Staff Present: Mike Braiman, Assistant Village Manager

John Prejzner, Assistant Director of Administrative Services

I.Call To Order

Chair John Jacoby called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. All members of the Working Group were present.

II. Public Comment

Jon Marshall stated that along with any survey, the Working Group should present basic facts such as a one-page FAQ sheet. Mr. Marshall stated that the Group should obtain information from the public health community on the impacts of the paid sick leave Ordinance. Furthermore, he recommended reaching out to neighboring communities and gather information such as business license data and sales tax data. Lastly, he suggested finding out impact on workers by reaching out to New Trier Township as they serve many working families who may be struggling.

Gina Kennedy urged the Group to not reject macro-level studies as stated in the memo to the Group as they may not be determinative, but they are relevant. Additionally, she stated that the Group should study the impact of newly passed tax law changes. Phone surveys have big challenges and may not be worthy of the cost.

Diana Hackbarth stated that it is important to provide context when asking questions on a survey.

Seth Krantz provided a story about a patient of his who was a school bus driver and who could not get any days off of work for lung cancer surgery.

Megan Hughes stated that she is a former Wilmette resident and that without sick time off employees can spread dangerous diseases.

Sam Grossner stated he is concerned about the impact of paperwork requirements on businesses.

Peter Nussbaum stated that the Group should consider the customer and will business be too high in costs as a result of the Ordinances.

III. Review Of Illinois Open Meetings Act

Mike Braiman, Assistant Village Manager, reviewed key details of the Illinois Open Meetings Act and how they apply to the Working Group.

IV. Discussion Of Working Group Mandate & Initial Steps To Identify Sources Of Information And Collection Of Information Relating To The Cook County Minimum Wage & Paid Sick Leave Ordinacnes

John Jacoby, Chair of the Working Group, stated that staff developed and presented a memo to the Working Group that identified the Group's mandate. Furthermore, it identified possible goals for the Group at this meeting, specifically identifying the people or groups that should be sources of information during the study and then determining the methods of soliciting information from these groups. Mr. Jacoby asked for comments and input from the Group and the public.

Brian Fabes stated that we should start by asking “what do we want to know?" and work backwards from there. On minimum wage, Mr. Fabes stated some data should include what has employment growth been like in Chicago compared to other surrounding communities since the implementation of a higher minimum wage in Chicago; comparing Chicago area Consumer Price Index (CPI) to that in the State; identifying the demographics of the workers in Wilmette that are affected; studying the living wage in Cook County and how it is affected by minimum wage, and more. Mr. Fabes stated that a lot of this information can be sourced from the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) as well as business license data in the Village and surrounding communities.

The Working Group discussed Mr. Fabes' recommendations and feedback from the public.

The members of the Working Group discussed the various sources of information that it would like to receive feedback from, including businesses in and outside of Wilmette, customers/residents, landlords and real estate brokers, business owners, and employees. The working group will send feedback to staff, including questions to be asked of the different groups, and will continue this discussion at its next meeting on January 22, 2018.

V. New Business

None.

VI. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

https://www.wilmette.com/download/agendas_and_minutes/minimum_wage__sick_leave_working_group/minutes/1-8-18-Working-Group-Minutes.pdf