Raising St. Paul’s hourly minimum wage to $15 would hit city hall by as much as $2.23 million in one year alone.

Relative to city spending, is that a major bundle of cash or a minor budget hiccup? For perspective, that’s less than 1 percent of this year’s total city spending on salaries — $218.4 million — and fringe benefits — $96 million. But one city department alone would account for the vast majority of the increase — Parks and Recreation.

The city recently asked the Citizens League to study the impact of a potential citywide minimum wage increase on St. Paul employers. The city, with roughly 3,000 workers, is one of the biggest employers in town. A wage increase would impact city coffers directly.

In preparation for that effort, a city budget analyst studied the impact that a $15 minimum wage might have on city departments.

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The analysis looks at “moving all city employees making less than $15 per hour directly to $15 per hour immediately — no phase-in,” said City Finance Director Todd Hurley. “This is the first component of what will be much more detailed analysis.”

Whether the city council approves $15 per hour or another sum, city officials have long acknowledged that St. Paul, like Minneapolis, Seattle, New York and other cities, will likely institute a phase-in period that could span several years.

BIG CHANGES FOR PARKS AND REC

Some departments, like the city attorney’s office, already pay most of their employees at least $15 an hour, so the net effect for the legal office of raising wages to $15 would be less than $300.

Others, such as Parks and Recreation, would be forced to make significant budget changes. Related Articles New report on minimum wage in St. Paul lays out the stakes

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Overall, the city would pay out an extra $1.94 million in new wages, or $2.23 million including benefits such as Social Security and Medicare tied to wages. Of the $1.94 million, the vast majority — $1.8 million — would come from the parks and rec budget for parks workers and lifeguards.

Other departments would pay out much lesser sums. The St. Paul Fire Department would pay out an extra $44,000. The St. Paul Public Library system would have to come up with an extra $35,000. The St. Paul Police Department would pay out an additional $12,000.

According to the analysis, a $15 minimum wage would immediately affect the lowest-paid workers the most: clerical trainees, interns, lifeguards, custodians, library aides, fire medic cadets and other entry-level and part-time or seasonal employees. Related Articles Metro Transit workers reject contract offer, vote to authorize strike

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It does not account for the potential impact of “wage compression” — when existing workers demand higher wages because they’re getting paid little more than (or even less than) new employees.

The city of St. Paul maintains roughly 2,700 full-time employees, as well as several hundred seasonal workers, many of them summer workers in parks and rec.