Montco Raises Minimum Wage For County Employees To $15 An Hour

NORRISTOWN, PA — Citing the impacts of the pandemic and the need to provide workers with a living wage, Montgomery County has raised the minimum wage for county employees to $15 an hour.

The bump applies to all 2,800 full and part time employees of the county government.

"We know many families continue to face challenges from low wages, depleted savings and the increasing cost of basic household goods in some cases exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said during last Thursday's Board of Commissioners meeting.

The $15 an hour mark is one long supported by Democratic leaders in Pennsylvania as a benchmark in the war on poverty. However, many Republican lawmakers remain unconvinced of its efficacy and it has never made it far in the Republican-controlled state legislature.

"Despite recent reports of overall improvement in employment and gains in median incomes, the economic recovery since the end of the great recession in 2010 has been uneven, according to research from the United Way," Arkoosh said, citing statistics which showed a 14 percent increase in households in the state unavailable to meet basic needs from 2007 to 2017.

Republican Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale objected to the measure, calling it political in nature.

"I criticized the increase in spending levels in the county...We're facing a period of time where we have to tighten our belts, and this salary board does not reflect that," Gale said. "It appears to be a political stunt where we're using taxpayer dollars to push for a cause to have a higher minimum wage."

In 2020, Gov. Wolf proposed a graduated raise of the wage in Pennsylvania, which would have seen the minimum bumped to $12 an hour last year, with small increases each year until $15 was reached in 2026. It was the sixth time he made a similar formal proposal.

U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Dean expressed her support for the move.

"Some good news to brighten your Monday," she said on Twitter. "Workers deserve fair compensation and a livable wage."

County officials said that they hoped Montgomery County would serve as an example to others to pass laws and motions on the local level.

"I hope that us leading the way on this will lead to other employers and other counties across the commonwealth doing the same," County Controller Karen Sanchez said.