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Milwaukee County employees and workers for county contractors would be paid at least $11.33 an hour under a "living wage" ordinance given preliminary approval Thursday by a County Board panel.

The board's finance committee backed the measure on a 7-2 vote, sending the measure to the full board for consideration Feb. 6.

Backers of the measure said it was needed to help lift low-wage workers from poverty, while opponents said the measure could cost taxpayers millions and jeopardize the county's Family Care program, which relies on state aid to help pay for often low-wage personal care workers for frail elderly residents and people with disabilities.

Supporters packed the County Board hearing room Thursday, cheering loudly at the vote. The Living Wage Coalition pressing for the change includes the Service Employees International Union, several other unions and social advocacy groups.

Supervisors Willie Johnson Jr., David Cullen, Jason Haas, Peggy Romo West, Theo Lipscomb Sr., David Bowen and Russell Stamper II voted for the ordinance. Supervisors Jim "Luigi" Schmitt and Patricia Jursik voted no.

The county move comes on the heels of President Barack Obama's call in his State of the Union address this week for state and local government to boost minimum wages. Obama backs an increase in the federal minimum wage, but the measure faces congressional resistance. He reiterated his support for a higher minimum wage during an appearance Thursday in Waukesha.

The version that was endorsed by the county panel trimmed the wage figure from $12.45, the original level proposed. The $11.33 figure was based on the federal poverty level for a family of four.

An amendment to the wage requirement approved by the panel also exempted nonprofit institutions, cultural institutions and other units of government the county does business with from the living wage requirement.

Don Tyler, the county's administrative services director, cautioned supervisors about potential consequences of the ordinance and called for a delay.

He said the county remained financially fragile and the additional costs would be difficult to absorb. The county comptroller has warned that the original version of the wage increase could raise the county's tax levy by $2 million this year and $8.8 million by 2019.

Bowen, the lead author of the living wage ordinance, said the costs of the county minimum wage would be far less after revisions. He praised the finance panel for its action.

"This was not only a brave thing to do, it was the right thing to do," he said. The county should adopt its own wage minimum because state or congressional action is unlikely now, Bowen said.

Jennifer Epps-Addison, director of Wisconsin Jobs Now, called for fast action on the minimum wage boost.

"I've heard a lot of, 'We can't. We can't enforce it, we can't figure it out,'" Epps-Addison said. But Milwaukee County "is the county of 'we can,'" she said.

The higher minimum wage for county employees and contract workers would go into effect once it got final approval, though it would not apply to existing contracts the county has with outside firms.

Supporters of the $11.33 county minimum are expecting a veto from County Executive Chris Abele and working to round up a veto-proof majority of supervisors to back it.

Tyler said the living wage plan would be difficult to implement and enforce and create additional workload for the county and its contractors.

The wage requirement also would be "all but impossible to fold into a convoluted set of (existing) ordinances," Tyler said.

The county's economic development director has warned the plan could kill developer deals, such as the lakefront high-rise proposed for the county's Downtown Transit Center site.

The revision approved Thursday, however, would exempt sales of county land or other property from the wage requirement.

The City of Milwaukee has had a less comprehensive living wage ordinance since 1995, which applies to part-time city workers and service contractors. The city living wage is $9.95.

About 140 U.S. cities and counties have similar versions of the ordinance.

Twitter: twitter.com/SteveSchultzeJS