To the editor:

Kudos to the J-W (Aug. 29) for revealing that, according to a draft report by city staff, city tax breaks aren’t working as hoped. Over half of the 13 companies that now receive tax breaks “in exchange for creating jobs in the city (have fallen) short of their employment projections.” And over three-quarters of these corporations “may be paying below-average wages.”

What’s the solution? We think we know.

Last November, when city commissioners approved a revised tax break policy, the Kaw Valley Living Wage Alliance proposed two amendments:

1. We urged the city to require firms that get tax abatements to pay their workers “average wages and benefits per employment category … except in cases when average wages and benefits … fall below the level necessary to sustain a family of three at 130 percent of the federal poverty level.” In such cases, we said, tax-subsidized firms should be required to keep their workers at least 30 percent above the poverty line which, in 2002, would translate into a living wage of $9.39 per hour plus benefits.

2. We also insisted that the city’s job goals for companies receiving tax exemptions “should be binding and enforceable, not optional.”

This, we said, would fix a broken policy. By a 3-2 vote, the commission disagreed. The unhappy consequences of this vote for jobs and wages are now becoming clear. It therefore gives us great pleasure to report that, so far, nearly 5,000 Lawrencians and over 30 local groups have signed our living wage petition. At our Labor Day festival in South Park, we celebrated this progress and reaffirmed the principle that growth in Lawrence should reduce poverty, not worsen it.

David Smith,

Lawrence