A living wage ordinance isn’t needed in Lawrence, but the city’s policy on tax breaks to new or expanding businesses should be changed to reward companies for creating better-paying jobs, Lawrence Chamber of Commerce officials said Tuesday.

After months of campaigning and discussion on the issue, the Lawrence City Commission is expected next month to discuss a proposal that would require all companies receiving tax breaks to pay their employees a “living wage” of at least $9.53 per hour, plus benefits.

Chamber officials said Tuesday they don’t support such a mandate-oriented approach.

“What we’re talking about is a carrot-versus-a-stick approach,” said Chamber CEO Lavern Squier.

The chamber’s board has unanimously endorsed a proposal that would rewrite the city’s tax abatement policy, which does not require a company to pay a living wage to qualify for a tax break.

The chamber is proposing the new abatement policy leave voluntary the idea of paying a living wage, which has been defined as 130 percent of the poverty level for a family of three. But chamber leaders suggested city commissioners should reward companies that pay their employees a living wage by giving them a larger tax abatement than they would qualify for today.

The chamber hasn’t proposed specific bonus incentives. For example, though, it said a company that would qualify for a 10-year, 50 percent abatement under current policy could perhaps qualify for a 55 percent abatement if the company pays a living wage. If it pays significantly more than the living wage, the company could qualify for an even larger tax abatement.

Squier said chamber board members supported the voluntary approach because they felt a simple “pass-fail” test would make the city less competitive in attracting or retaining companies.

Chamber officials have discussed the proposal with all five city commissioners and said they were optimistic commissioners would consider it.

“I’m encouraged that it was a good set of discussions,” said Larry McElwain, chair of the chamber’s board. “I don’t think there was anyone in the room who wasn’t listening.”

City Commissioner Boog Highberger said he was open to the idea of creating an incentive-based system, but that the chamber proposal needed tweaking. Highberger said the level of tax abatements in the chamber’s proposal were too high.

For example, he said he thought a company that doesn’t pay a living wage should not qualify for the standard 50 percent abatement, but for some amount less than that. Companies that do pay a living wage would get that new lesser amount plus a bonus tax abatement for paying a living wage.

“I don’t think the chamber proposal goes far enough,” Highberger said. “It still allows for the possibility of very significant tax breaks for companies that don’t pay all their employees a living wage.

“But I like the idea of using incentives. I like carrots better than sticks.”

David Smith, a member of the Kaw Valley Living Wage Alliance’s steering committee, said he thought the chamber proposal was inadequate.

“Firms that get tax breaks should pay their workers a living wage,” Smith said. “It is something they should be required to do. Not something they should be asked to do.”

As part of their proposal, the chamber is putting on hold a previously announced living wage study the group had hired Kansas University’s Policy Research Institute to conduct. McElwain said the $24,000 study was postponed because it probably would not be done in time to be part of the City Commission debate.

The commission is expected to take up the living wage issue at its Aug. 19 meeting at City Hall.