By2025, Bloomington’s living wage will reach $16.22 per hour, however certain jobs, like video services, would not be included

Bloomington, Indiana – Bloomington’s “living wage” is projected to be $16.22 per hour by 2025. Up to $2.43 of that, $16.22 may be provided to a covered employee in the form of health insurance.

Bloomington’s living wage will rise from $15.75 per hour in 2024 to $0.47 per hour in 2025, or almost 3% more.

The living wage was first set at $10 by the Bloomington city council in 2005, with a rise depending on the consumer price index (CPI) at each subsequent renewal.

Who is required to pay the Bloomington living wage standard?

Not every employer within the municipal limits is required to pay the living wage. However, it does have an impact on employers who are bound by contract to provide specific services to the city.

When asked a B Square question in 2022, Barbara McKinney, the assistant city attorney at the time, stated that she didn’t think the Monroe County Public Library’s CATS (Community Access Television Services) qualified as a “covered employer” under the code.

The rule only applies to employers who have a contract with the city and who perform specific services.

Employers under contract to provide “security services” are among those impacted by the living wage regulation. This includes the agreement that Bloomington’s Redevelopment Commission (RDC) approved last week with Marshall Security to provide patrols in the newly developed Hopewell neighborhood, which is being built near the site of the former IU Health hospital.

A remark stating that “An increase to the city’s livable wage requirement will result in a modified bill rate” is included in the materials that Marshall Security gave the RDC, acknowledging the existence of the living wage ordinance in the city.

Food services, janitorial and custodial services, security services, parking lot management, waste management, carpentry, landscaping, utility and building maintenance, carpentry, clerical and office services, street maintenance and repair, sidewalk construction, laundry services, pest control, resident and day shelter services are among the services covered by Bloomington’s living wage.

For instance, video recording services are not included in the list.

The Monroe County Public Library, through a contract with CATS (Community Access Television Services), is responsible for recording public meetings, including those of the redevelopment commission and city council.

The city of Bloomington and CATS have a contract for $464,969 for 2024; this represents a meager 1% increase over 2023.

According to the library’s pay schedule, CATS technicians are assigned a job code of 110 and will earn between $15.95 and $23.12 per hour in 2024.

Even though video recording services don’t seem to be covered by Bloomington’s law, the bottom end of the range is slightly better—20 cents an hour more—than the living wage threshold.

A number of variables may drive increased wages for CATS technicians. The living wage ordinance could be increased in tandem with an expansion of the services covered by the ordinance by the municipal council. Alternatively, the city may have different standards for the variety of jobs performed by CATS technicians.

One potential contributing element could be a reorganization of job duties. The creation of a new deputy clerk post is recommended in a report by the city council’s special committee on council procedures, which was delivered at the end of 2023. Among other things, the report would evaluate “whether or how to change or augment the City’s current practice of contracting with Community Access Television Services (CATS) for video recordings.”

It might affect how much technicians would need to be paid if the CATS contract changed to require technicians to perform additional or other types of work, such as managing Zoom hosting responsibilities or archiving Zoom recordings.

There have recently been hints about raising the living wage in the city significantly.

During the budget hearing on August 26, Councilmember Matt Flaherty questioned if the amount designated as the city’s living wage was sufficient. Flaherty brought up the fact that some estimates suggest that the real living wage in this location for an individual living on their own is more like $19 or $20 per hour.

MIT’s Living Wage Calculator is one of those evaluations; it estimates that the actual living wage in Monroe County for an individual living alone is $19.96. The MIT-calculated living wage ranges from $19 to $20 per hour for nearly half of the counties in Indiana.

In 2025, a 27-percent rise over the 2024 level would occur if the living wage was raised to $20 per hour rather than to $16.22. If the CATS contract for 2024 is adjusted by that 27 percent, it will result in an extra $125,468 in 2025.

The contract with CATS is approved by Bloomington’s Board of Public Works, usually during a meeting in December of the previous year.

[Serving on the city council in 2005 when the living wage ordinance was passed were: Chris Sturbaum, Jason Banach, Michael Diekhoff, Dave Rollo, David Sabbagh, Steve Volan, Chris Gaal, Andy Ruff, and Timothy Mayer. Banach and Sabbagh dissented on the vote.]