Park Board discusses budget consequences of state's minimum wage increase

The Parks Board spent much of its Wednesday meeting considering a report from Director John Shelton and Assistant Director Elliot Wilburn on the impact of Prop A’s passage last week on the department’s finances. Proposition A increased Missouri’s minimum wage from $12.30 to $13.75, effective January 1, 2025, with a further increased to $15 on January 1, 2026. Due to both the number of part-time employees and fulltime salary compression, Shelton estimated a $60,000-$100,000 increase in labor costs. “Keep an eye on that,” Shelton said to the board. “We’re going to see some increases in that, which means we’re going to see more parks, more mowing, more maintenance, and stuff like that. Those numbers are going to continue to go up, so we need to be diligent and careful on what we take on as new projects.” For more on this story, see Saturday's LCR.