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Milwaukee County workers and some employees of county contractors must be paid a "living wage" of at least $11.32 an hour, after the County Board Thursday overrode County Executive Chris Abele's veto of the measure.

The board voted to override the veto on the same 12-6 margin the measure was adopted last month.

Supervisors voting for the override were: David Bowen, Gerry Broderick, David Cullen, Marina Dimitrijevic, Jason Haas, Willie Johnson Jr., Theo Lipscomb Sr., Michael Mayo Sr., Khalif Rainey, Peggy Romo West, Russell Stamper II and John Weishan Jr.

Supervisors voting to sustain Abele's veto were Deanna Alexander, Mark Borkowski, Patricia Jursik, Jim "Luigi" Schmitt, Tony Staskunas and Steve F. Taylor.

About 16 county employees now earning less than $11.32 are expected to get raises this year as a result of Thursday's action. Another 64 are estimated to get raises next year, when the new figure is expected to rise to $11.60.

Thousands of employees of county vendors won't get "living wage" raises until current contracts are renewed.

The successful override vote was greeted with cheers from dozens of supporters who packed the County Board chamber.

Supervisors, however, took the vote with no substantial debate.

The only discussion was on whether Abele's entire four-page veto message should be read aloud, which was requested by Alexander.

The board voted 17-1 against the reading.

Abele has warned of "catastrophic" financial consequences to the county of the minimum wage ordinance.

Backers of the measure say the higher pay would have a positive impact for the low-wage workers and their families.

Bowen hailed the vote as evidence most supervisors "believe in actual action and not just lip service."

"The county executive's veto of this ordinance is very telling in his stance to help those who make the least among us," Bowen said.

Abele had called for supervisors to join him in lobbying for an increase in the state or federal minimum wage, as an alternative to the county "living wage" ordinance.

Abele's warnings

Abele has warned the measure could damage the county's Family Care program, based on a worst-case estimate by county Comptroller Scott Manske.

The living wage ordinance could drive up Family Care costs by millions of dollars annually and potentially threaten the program's existence, according to a report by Manske.

Because of difficulty in predicting how the market would react to the $11.32 hourly minimum, Manske said he could only estimate the financial impact based on assuming the county would have to fully absorb the higher costs.

Some 2,400 low-wage personal care workers, employed by county contractors in the Family Care program, would be affected by the higher county minimum wage.

Family Care provides support services in the home for frail elderly and disabled people.

The wage costs for those care workers is expected to rise $2.3 million in 2015 as a result of the new minimum wage ordinance.

The money would likely have to come from the Family Care program's $21 million reserves, said Maria Ledger, the program's director.

If the program reserves drop too much, the state could terminate the county's Family Care program, Manske has warned.

Milwaukee County is now the fourth local government in the state to have a higher local minimum wage ordinance.

The cities of Milwaukee and Madison, and Dane County already have similar ordinances.

The county living wage measure was strongly backed by some labor unions and advocates for the poor.

The $11.32 Milwaukee County figure was based on the current federal poverty level for a family of four.

That figure would likely rise to $12.80 by 2019, according to the comptroller's report.

Backers of the measure say the higher wage provides fairer compensation for full-time work and is justified based on profits corporations with county contracts earn.

In a related step, the board voted 14-4 to override an Abele veto of a measure in support of raising the state and federal wage minimums, including a provision endorsing the county's authority to enact a higher "living wage."

The board Thursday also overrode an Abele veto of a measure calling for the county to negotiate an agreement with the City of Milwaukee to take over taxi regulation, despite warnings that counties aren't permitted to do so under state law.

The vote to override that veto was 15-3, with Alexander, Schmitt and Staskunas opposing the override.

In his veto message, Abele noted that City Attorney Grant Langley and the state Legislative Council said the county lacked state authority to regulate cabs.

"The clear, plain language of the state statutes vests the authority to regulate and license taxicabs with cities, villages and towns," Abele wrote.

Weishan said even if there is a legal hurdle with the county regulating cabs, his resolution also says the county should negotiate with the city to develop a taxicab dispatch service through the county's transit system.

That's not barred by state law, Weishan said.

Twitter: twitter.com/SteveSchultzeJS