EDITORIAL

In a city that has had more than its share of debates over money,

funding and spending, the latest concerning paying a prevailing wage may

hit closest to home for many.

City leaders are preparing to study the issue, which essentially has

to do with how much workers with city contracts should get paid. Under

the California Labor Code, the city must pay prevailing wages on public

works projects of $1,000 or more. The wages are set according to a

formula that takes into account what the majority of workers in a

profession make in an area and bump it up so they might afford to live

comfortably in that area. In Orange County, that works out to about $35

to $41 an hour.

That, of course, is a great deal for those working on city projects.

But because it’s the residents’ money, the wages also have to make fiscal

sense. And it seems hard to argue that such wages, which work out to

$72,000 to $85,000 a year, are the wisest spending of our tax dollars,

especially when those dollars seem precious and few these days.

The city has a relatively easy solution to the issue. Because it is a

charter city, the City Council can simply pass an ordinance that

overrides the labor code. If the council does so, we would urge that a

system is set up to ensure the city doesn’t go from paying arguably too

much to arguably too little. A living wage, at least, should be enforced.

There is some urgency to the question. At its last meeting, the

council voted to hold off on beginning the $7.5-million Overmyer

Reservoir renovation project until it has a chance to study the

prevailing wage issue. Other city projects could face a similar delay if

the issue isn’t settled soon.

City leaders clearly need to make a decision quickly. And it seems

clear that being handcuffed by the prevailing wage law is not in the

city’s interest. It is, after all, our money. And the workers’, too.