The following is a wrap-up of the November 6 City Council meeting. You may also view the full agenda or listen to an audio recording of the meeting.
By a 4-0 decision with Councilmember Costanzo recused from the vote, the City Council voted to approve the creation of a new marketing and tourism district for San Gabriel. You may recall that the City Council voted in July to form a contract with Civitas to create the rubric for a district that would allow businesses to organize and bring more customers to their destination using funds from hotel occupants.
This district would generate an estimated $193,000 on an annual basis to help promote travel and tourism specific to San Gabriel. Businesses within the district include the Hilton Los Angeles/San Gabriel and the Sheraton Los Angeles San Gabriel.
As a result of this district, a new assessment will be charged to hotel occupants beginning on February 1, 2019. Meanwhile, the City will be responsible for collecting the assessments on a quarterly basis.
| City Council: | Vote: |
| Mayor John Harrington | Yes |
| Vice Mayor Jason Pu | Yes |
| Councilmember Juli Costanzo | Recused from the vote |
| Councilmember Chin Ho Liao | Yes |
| Councilmember Denise Menchaca | Yes |
City to amend salary schedule to comply with California minimum wage requirements
As a result of new legislation, California’s new hourly minimum wage will increase to $12.00, followed by a $1.00 increase per year until it reaches $15.00 in 2022. To ensure that the City is compliant with state law, the City is required to adjust the salary of six positions that would be impacted by the state’s decision by implementing an 8.82% increase.
To address internal equity issues, City staff must also increase the salary ranges of several positions directly above those impacted by the new minimum wage law. These increases amount to 3.1%.
The total estimated cost for adjustments are estimated to be $15,000. Since the City’s current budget is in line with these costs, no additional funds are requested.