Long Beach Chamber Wants Say in Pay-Raise Push

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Recognizing that Long Beach elected officials will likely enact an increase in the minimum wage in coming months, the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is hoping to negotiate a deal that would make a raise more palatable to businesses in the city rather than opposing a wage hike outright.

The City Council is expected to vote this week to study the potential impact of raising the minimum wage, most likely to $15 an hour, the same level set in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco.

The council is expected to have the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. conduct the study. The LAEDC recently did a study for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors before it voted last month to raise the minimum wage in the county’s unincorporated areas to $15 by 2020.

In Long Beach, council members supporting the wage hike said they also want to explore ways to help small businesses cope with an increase. That is welcome news to the chamber.

“The chamber and the business community now have a chance to weigh in,” said Jeremy Harris, senior vice president with the chamber.

He said the chamber would like to discuss a longer phase-in period for wage hikes for small businesses, looking at various definitions of small, ranging up to companies with 100 employees. It also wants to discuss city moves to cut business taxes or other fees.

It’s a much different tack for the chamber, which vehemently opposed a 2012 ballot measure calling for higher wages at the city’s large hotels.

“That was a one-issue campaign: Are you for it or against it?” Harris said, noting there was no room for negotiation. “This is a very different approach … and we are looking forward to the discussion process.”

Long Beach joins Pasadena, Santa Monica and West Hollywood in eyeing a minimum-wage increase. Of course, Los Angeles has already enacted a hike that will see wages rise to at least $15 an hour for all employers by 2021.

Harris said that even if all these cities raise their minimum wages, a hike in Long Beach could still prompt some businesses to leave there.

“People forget we’re next to Orange County, where no one is talking about raising the minimum wage,” he said. “Businesses could easily move to lower-cost cities in OC.”

Water Wars

Golden State Water Co., a subsidiary of publicly traded utility operator American States Water of San Dimas, recently lost another round it its effort to block a municipal water district from taking over its system in Ojai.

Ojai residents upset by rate increases overwhelmingly voted two years ago to ask the Casitas Municipal Water District to take over their system. The water district chose to finance the takeover effort with a 30-year parcel tax, a move Golden State challenged in court.

A lower court ruled the parcel tax is legal, and late last month the state Supreme Court declined to hear Golden State’s appeal of that decision.

“We are disappointed, but respect the court’s decision,” said Denise Kruger, senior vice president for regulated utilities at Golden State.

Supporters of the water district buyout were pleased that the Supreme Court decided not to step in.

“It looks clear that this lawsuit was simply an attempt by Golden State to bully the Ojai ratepayers by running up costs and delaying the takeover,” said Ojai attorney and activist Ryan Blatz.

Now that the financing for a takeover is secure, the next step will be an eminent domain lawsuit that will attempt to force Golden State to sell.

Meanwhile, Golden State is already locked in an eminent domain battle with the city of Claremont, which is also trying to wrest a water system from the private utility. A judge in late April rejected Claremont’s initial eminent domain lawsuit, saying it was defective. The city has since been readying an amended suit.

Regulating Valet Apps?

As it considers regulating ride apps such as Uber and Lyft, the city of Los Angeles is also moving to regulate valet parking apps, a much smaller but also fast-growing business.

The Police Commission, which oversees valet parking operations, is looking at a proposal to rope in valet parking apps such as Luxe of San Francisco under its 2013 valet parking ordinance. That ordinance set up a permitting system for valet parking operators, required background checks for valets and the setting aside of a sufficient number of parking spaces.

With Luxe and similar operators, instead of hunting for an already existing valet stand, someone looking for a parking space can summon a valet via an app to their specific location; the valet then deals with the challenge of finding a legal parking space and returning the car when called for.

Austin Kim, Luxe’s L.A. general manager, welcomed the city’s move.

“We are excited to see progress towards a legal framework which allows on-demand services like ours clear guidelines to operate,” he said.

Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 227.

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Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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