A livable wage in Durango
Affordability and the ability of workers to live in Durango has been a hot topic for years. However, the solutions taken to address this issue seem to ignore the root cause of the problem. Rather than directly addressing how much workers earn for hours worked, many of our leaders seem to focus instead on the back end of the issue (e.g. how do we make housing affordable, etc.) In my view, these types of solutions (while admirable) merely put a band-aid on the consequences rather than addressing the root cause of the problem.
One of the root causes of unaffordability in Durango is the growing wage gap. Our local government cannot stop inflation, reduce costs of goods, or directly impact the real estate market and its outrageous upward spiral. But in 2019, the Colorado Legislature gave our local governments a tool to address the affordability problem head on. That is, local governments in Colorado now have the authority to increase their local minimum wage.
This was specifically designed for communities like Durango, whose cost of living is far outpacing the state average. Increasing the minimum wage addresses the root problem of affordability without any cost to taxpayers because the State Department of Labor and Employment provides the enforcement. It is a step toward ensuring that our hourly workforce is being paid something closer to a living wage so that our workforce can live where they work.
The numbers on this issue don’t lie. A full-time worker making the current Colorado minimum wage ($14.81) makes approximately $30,000 per year (before taxes and assuming 40 hours of work for 52 weeks, meaning no unpaid time off). The current average annual rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Durango is about $22,800 per year. This leaves $6,200 for ALL other expenses for an entire year (not including taxes). When you start adding basic costs like transportation, food and healthcare, that $6,200 is consumed quickly.
The MIT living wage calculator (livingwage.mit.edu) shows that a living wage for an individual with no children in La Plata County is $24 per hour, and it increases dramatically from there based on the size of your family. The math is simple – no one can survive comfortably in Durango at $14.81 per hour. In looking at job postings over the past year, The DuranGo Forward Coalition (a group of nonprofits, individuals and local workers advocating for an increased local minimum wage) found that 91% of jobs posted in Durango feature a wage range that is above the proposed increase, meaning less than 10% of Durango businesses would be impacted by this change. So when you hear the business community’s response to this proposal that it will put everyone out of business or increase costs for consumers, please know that most businesses in Durango already pay more than the proposed increase and therefore would not be impacted.
Current state law limits any minimum wage increase to no more than 15% per year. So, the most that Durango could increase its minimum wage in 2025 is by $2.22 to $17.03/hour. This is still a far cry from the $24/hour living wage, but it is a step in the right direction. This is an action that the Durango City Council could take now with no cost to taxpayers that would have a direct impact on all hourly workers to help make Durango more affordable.
The Durango City Council’s 2022 Strategic Plan lists its top three priorities as “1) Affordability & Economic Opportunity; 2) Enhanced Livability and Sense of Place; 3) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion.” If the City Council is serious about these priorities, raising the minimum wage would make significant strides toward each of these without any cost to the City or taxpayers.
Finally, we are all aware that the new presidential administration and U.S. Congress will no doubt be cutting taxes for the wealthy. They’ve done it before and have promised to do it again. Business owners will be getting another financial break very soon. Workers deserve a break, too. Luckily, in Colorado, we have local control over this issue. Our City Council should use its authority to help the workers who keep our town running. Raising Durango’s minimum wage benefits everyone and is a no brainer.
– Dave Albrechta, DuranGo Forward