Rep. Katrina Shankland at the July League of Women Voters Candidate Forum. (City-Times photo)

By Brandi Makuski

Leaders from Portage County this month will decide whether to support an advisory referendum supporting a minimum wage hike to $10.10 per hour- a move which will to bring the question to voters on the November ballot.

Rep. Katrina Shankland was on hand for Monday’s Portage Co. Finance Committee meeting to help spearhead official movement on the increase, presenting county officials with a petition containing more than 600 names asking for formal county support of a statewide increase of minimum wage, which currently is $7.25 an hour.

Shankland said residents from “just about every municipality in the county” had signed the petition, which was circulated at area festivals and other summer events over the past few weeks, and was advertised largely through word of mouth.

Students from UWSP, as well as local fast food employees, joined together in December of last year to protest food service wages, calling for a raise to $15/hour. The protest was small and held near northside McDonald’s on Division Street. (City-Times photo)

“I kept hearing from people all over the county how important this issue was, and people kept asking me, ‘When are you going to raise the minimum wage?’ everywhere I went,” Shankland said. She said there are currently two bills in the state legislature and another in Congress relating to minimum wage but neither had gained any traction.

“In that kind of situation, where people are ahead of politicians, I think the best way to go for it is really grassroots, and that’s really what happened,” she said.

According to Shankland, minimum wage hasn’t kept up with inflation.

“The last minimum wage increase was July, 2009. Since then the cost of tuition has risen significantly: the cost of utilities has risen 10 percent; cheese, 22 percent, milk, 21.2 percent, car insurance, 24 percent, stamps 20 percent, rent 23 percent, cable 54 percent, and coffee 27 percent,” Shankland said by phone on Tuesday. “Looking at how much cost of living has actually increases versus wages actually stagnating, people really need to react to the situation.”

Shankland also said American workers’ wages have been “stagnate” for about a decade, and a minimum wage hike would bring more than half a million Wisconsinites out of poverty.

According to figures from the Portage Co. Hunger & Poverty Prevention Partnership released last week, requests for assistance have risen locally across the board. More than 1,400 people requested emergency assistance including food, energy assistance and other help.

But how a raise in minimum wage could affect local governments is uncertain. The City of Steven Point has just approved a new pay plan few are happy with, but Portage Co. currently pays nearly all hourly employees more than $10. HR Assistant Director Amanda Streicher said some seasonal jobs might need to be reevaluated, but added the increase to $10.10, should it become effective, wouldn’t happen overnight.

“What I can tell you is the last time the minimum wage was increased it was by $.25, we didn’t have to change our pay scale,” Streicher said. “This is certainly a greater amount and would have a greater affect, I think if this goes through we’ll have to reevaluate if there’s a greater impact and what our strategy is for that.”

County Executive Patty Dreier said she supports the wage hike even if it means slowing down on some county projects.

“I’m not an authority around the economics of it, from but the standpoint of people being able to make a decent way in the world, cover their expenses, it sounds like the answer,” Dreier said. “And if it means we have to pace ourselves in being able to move forward, so be it.”

County Board Chairman Phil Idsvoog said he expects the resolution to pass, but said raising minimum wage won’t help unless employment laws are enforced throughout the state. Too many employers in the construction and food service industries, he said, are paying cash under the table and not paying their share of taxes.

“Those laws haven’t been enforced anywhere in this state,” he said. “And that’s one of my big concerns. But if increasing the minimum wage is good for the economy, I say great, but I also say increase social security payments. It’s my understanding $10.10 was chosen because that’s the rate of inflation; if that’s the case then thing like social security ought to be based on that as well.”

County leaders will decide whether to pass a resolution placing the advisory referendum on the ballot at its August 19 meeting, held at 5 PM in the courthouse. That meeting is open to the public.