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Home My WebLink AboutAdditional Audience CommentFrom:Jennifer"s Home To:CityClerk Subject:Minimum Wage-vote no Date:Sunday, December 3, 2023 12:05:26 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Hi, Please put this to the vote of the people. Don’t vote yes, it is to important. Don’t be like Seattle and Tukwila and try to sneak this in. They are the ones pushing for this, not city residents. Instead listen to your constituents. Let us say want we want by letting us vote. Raising the minimum wage will raise prices on everything. It isn’t the right thing to do. Let businesses decide what they want to pay for the quality of work. Washington minimum is already going up enough in January to $16.28 per hour. We need a place for entry level workers. Thank you for listening Please vote to put to a vote of the people. Jennifer, Renton city resident 206-276-9189 Jennifer cell phone. CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. From:johnna43 To:CityClerk Subject:Public Comment Date:Monday, December 4, 2023 1:23:08 PM I wish to comment on the minimum wage increase. My name is Donna Fetch. I am a longtime resident of Renton. I do not support the wage increase. Today, everything costs more. Wages are the biggest expense for businesses. I used to go out for lunch at my favorite restaurant for under $10. Last week I went to lunch at the same restaurant and it cost me $21. I am a senior citizen. We do not get 25% increase in our income. We live on a very limited income. I worry about the people on disability too, their income will not go up either. I fear our expenses to live will increase even more with the passage of this measure. I feel supporting this measure will only make the division between the haves and have not larger. Please vote NO. Thank you, Donna Fetch Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. From:Jeffrey Kelly To:CityClerk Subject:Fwd: Opposition to increasing minimum wage Date:Monday, December 4, 2023 2:48:35 PM Please enter my email to the council into the City Council meeting record as public comment regarding the minimum wage increase agenda item. Jeff Kelly ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Ruth Pérez <RPerez@rentonwa.gov> Date: Sat, Dec 2, 2023 at 4:09 PM Subject: Re: Opposition to increasing minimum wage To: Jeffrey Kelly <jeff@assetlab.us> Dear Jeffrey, Thank you for taking the time to write to us and share your concerns. Sincerely, Ruth Pérez Councilmember Get Outlook for iOS From: Jeffrey Kelly <jeff@assetlab.us> Sent: Friday, December 1, 2023 6:06:58 PM To: Council <Council@Rentonwa.gov> Subject: Opposition to increasing minimum wage Council members, As a long time member of the Renton community and Renton small business community I am writing to express fear of an increase to the Renton hourly minimum wage beyond the current schedule adopted by the State of Washington. 1. Washington State has the 2nd highest minimum wage in the country 2. Washington State has an aggressive schedule to automatically and significantly increase minimum wage each year 3. The United States Congressional Budget Office recognizes that increasing minimum wage results in job loss 4. Businesses experiencing higher labor expenses are consistently shown to increase prices (inflation), seek efforts that reduce employment (automation), and move jobs to communities with lower labor expenses (loss of jobs) 5. Inflation has the biggest financial impact on those with the lowest income levels 6. Reduced employment for jobs near the minimum wage have the biggest impact on families at the lowest income levels 7. There are many jobs available in our community at a large range of pay levels, experience levels, and education levels that provide mobility to higher income 8. The combination of local inflation and job loss will push more families to live elsewhere The negative impacts from increasing minimum wage are clearly seen in surrounding communities that have already made this change. We love our community. We love the diversity of our community. We seriously fear that pushing the minimum wage in Renton to a level beyond any state in the country works against the vibrant community we've built. Jeff Kelly Business owner, employer, and long-time resident in the City of Renton CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. From:Berliner Pub To:Jason Seth; Council Cc:Diane Dobson Subject:Raise the Wage impact on Berliner Pub Date:Monday, December 4, 2023 4:13:56 PM Attachments:Raise the Wage Comment_12.4.23.docx Hello, Please find attached a letter for the 'con' argument for the "raise the wage Renton" proposal. I am currently on vacation, but if you have any questions, I can be reached by text at 206.793.6437, or email. I am not in a good area for reception, so my apologies if I am hard to get a hold of. Kind regards, Lydia -- The Berliner Pub 221 Main Ave S Renton WA 98057 425-277-1111 www.BerlinerPub.com Follow BerlinerPub on Facebook, Twitter and Instragram Berliner Pub 221 Main Ave S, Renton WA 98057 Mailing Address: 6747 57th Ave S, Seattle WA 98118 P: 425‐277‐1111 C: 206‐793‐6437 www.BerlinerPub.com TheBerlinerPub@gmail.com To Whom It May Concern: RE: Raise the Wage Renton Dear Sir / Madam, I would like to make a comment on the proposed wage raise for Renton and it’s potential effect on my business. Our restaurant has been operating in downtown Renton since 2011 and has become a neighborhood favorite. With the minimum wage increase of $1.25 per hour in 2023, our payroll increased by $1,062.50 per week (based on an average of 850 paid hours per week). We struggled to avoid menu increases but ended up having to raise prices in the end. Our prices are now at the top of what is reasonable to expect people to pay and is comparable to Seattle downtown dining. Even so, we are still running at 42.33% staff costs and very little profit. To increase to $19 per hour would mean an hourly increase of $3.26 per hour, which means a total of $2,771 per week of extra wages. Our prices would have to increase a staggering amount to cover these costs and customers would simply go elsewhere. There are many nearby restaurant choices outside Renton. We pay above minimum wage to our back of house staff. Our front of house staff is getting minimum wage, but with their tips, are making on average $35‐45 per hour. Increasing the minimum wage only in Renton would have a devastating effect on businesses and restaurants in particular. If the whole state is changing, that would be a different story, but to single out Renton, is to force customers elsewhere Kind regards, Lydia Mascarinas Lydia Mascarinas, Owner theberlinerpub@gmail.com CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. From:Kate Cooke To:CityClerk Subject:Equity, Housing and Human Services Date:Monday, December 4, 2023 8:40:50 PM I attended tonight's meeting on zoom, having been retired during the pandemic I am not so familiar with zoom meetings. I thoughts I was signed in. I will figure it out for next time. I wanted the mayor and city council to know that I am opposed to the dismantling of the Equity, Housing and Human Services dept. As a senior citizen in Renton, on a fixed income it is really hard to get by sometimes. I'm lucky I do have an income, I know there are other residents who can't pay their rent and will choose between food and paying rent. The 2/6 million needs to stay in that dept and go to the people and businesses that need it. Thanks for reading this, Katharine Cooke