City employees may soon be cashing in on larger paychecks or benefit packages.

The Davis City Council is currently waiting on research in order to implement a standard living wage for the city.

The city’s neglect of having a standard living wage policy has been an issue Councilmember Lamar Heystek has been persistent on addressing since 2006 when he was first elected to City Council.

“We need to have some semblance of fairness in how we compensate our employees,” Heystek said. “Single digit wages are not something we should be proud of. These are adults with children, not interns.… They are people who are trying to make a living, and we need to renegotiate their wages.”

This issue grew high on the list of City Council priorities after it declined to extend a yearlong contract with landscape companies. The council said it was unsure if the employees were being appropriately compensated for their labor. The council was motivated to figure out what the city, in conjunction with Parks and Community Services, set out to define a standard living wage.

“The City Council wants a living wage ordinance,” said Jim Newman, superintendent of Parks and General Services. “A living wage is above minimum wage, and it is computed on the area and is dependent on whether or not the employers give certain health benefits.… In this particular region, living wage is $9.50 to $11, although we have yet to define what it is for Davis.”

When the issue of living wage was first brought forward, it was intended to be more universal for Davis, affecting private enterprise, city contracts and city employees, but this policy was not adopted.

“A couple of years ago when Councilmember Heystek brought living wage up, I put forward the living wage ordinance from Santa Monica,” said Councilmember Stephen Souza. “As I read the body of information available, we had a better chance, given the state of what was in the courts, to put ahead living wage for our workers of the city of Davis.”

Now, two years later, the issue is being discussed again, and the plan of action for City Council is to find out Davis’ living wage and apply it first to city workers. After a standard of living wage is constituted, the city will research the laws on living wage and private enterprise and see how the city can apply living wage standards to those citizens who are privately employed, UC Davis employees and students employed at private enterprises within the city of Davis.

“We want to figure out an appropriate level for employees of the city of Davis and those who contract within the city of Davis,” Souza said. “We’ll have to see if it’ll be more beneficial for higher wages and no benefits or for a wage with a minimum level of health care. I’m not sure which direction the city will go in, but all these questions have to be asked and answered to make an appropriate decision for the city.”

Although the City Council would like the issue of living wage to be resolved as soon as possible, they don’t think it’s appropriate to put forth a timeline, Souza said.

“Time is not of the essence as much as it’s important that it’s done correctly,” he said.

The issue of living wage is one of great significance for the city of Davis and the rest of the country, as it affects the standard of living.

“It’s an ongoing debate occurring not only in the state of California, but across the nation, and it is an appropriate debate in our city with high rents, high gas prices and high food costs – which are all things that are really hurting folks,” Souza said. “It’s important for us to pay people a wage that lets them not only to get by, but a wage that lets people live.”

ALEX BULLER can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.

FRIDAY

Let’s make s’mores!

Individuals were seen camping out in front of store on E. Eighth Street.

The other sister

Individual said she was mentally ill and had possibly been assaulted on Fifth Street.

Oh, that’s not part of the street?

An individual drove over the sidewalk on L Street.

Surprise!

A small box wrapped in brown paper was sitting on a fence on L Street.

Blinded by the light, or, sight

Male exposed himself on 11th Street.

SATURDAY

Fast and the Furious party

Ten vehicles with college-age students were seen on Blackburn Drive.

Was it croquet?

Subjects were playing a loud game in a backyard on Purdue Drive.

Brings whole new meaning to hit and run

Male passenger inside vehicle was seen hitting other passengers on E Street.

Real suspicious

Male subjects were seen in parking lot on Alvarado Avenue.

Sons, drugs and rock’n’roll

Individual reported son was on drugs and refusing to leave on Chestnut Lane.

SUNDAY

I love trees!

Individual was seen stopping in intersection and touching the trees on Dresbach Way.

Jackass Part 3?

Subjects were seen tearing down signs and pushing a wheeled cart down the stairs of a complex on Cantrill Drive.

Party foul

Individual was making threats against a bouncer on Second Street.

The streets are alive with the sound of music

Restaurant was playing music too loudly on Second Street.

POLICE BRIEFS are compiled by ANN KIM from the public logs at the Davis Police Department and represent the official version of what happened. This segment appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. The DPD crime blotter can be viewed at cityofdavis.org/police/log.

Traveling from downtown Davis to campus during lunch rush hour in the middle of the day can prove a harrowing task.

The city of Davis is currently communicating with Specialized Transportation Services on the UC Davis campus to develop a shuttle service that would take patrons from the downtown area to central campus during lunch hours.

“For several years, the city of Davis, the Davis downtown business association [and STS] … have identified the potential opportunity for a direct shuttle between core campus and downtown,” said Ken Hiatt, deputy city manager for Davis.

Hiatt and the city of Davis have been working closely with multiple groups in order to organize a means of funding and a feasibility plan for this shuttle service, he said.

“Over the past year, we’ve been working with Unitrans fairly closely [in addition to working with] a graduate student class on campus in the Institute of Transportation Studies program,” Hiatt added.

Within the past year, Hiatt, with the help of the Downtown Davis Business Association, conducted a survey in order to determine the most appropriate and effective route for the shuttle. The survey also provided information on potential user groups of the shuttle, Hiatt added.

“We concluded that there appears to be sufficient interest for a shuttle that would run between about 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. [on weekdays] during the academic school year,” he said.

The benefit of taking this shuttle as opposed to a Unitrans bus includes routes that might not stop at the more commercial areas in downtown. This shuttle is specifically designed to go from downtown to core campus and back.

“The model that we’re looking at and that was evaluated is one that is more direct and more frequent,” Hiatt said. “Every 10 minutes at designated stops, you could expect the shuttle to pick you up.”

Coordinators working on the shuttle project, including Hiatt, are still seeking options for funding of the project. Despite this, Hiatt said he hopes the shuttle will be up and running in the near future.

“Our goal or target would be to have an operating shuttle by September,” Hiatt added.

While Unitrans is helping with the details of what the shuttle program might look like, the actual shuttles being used will be chartered through STS, which also runs the Tipsy Taxi service, said Anthony Palmere, assistant general manager with Unitrans.

“[The city of Davis] will be paying STS to operate [the shuttle] as if they were operating a charter … although it is not strictly a charter because it is open to the public,” Palmere said.

If this shuttle is successful, STS will have a source of funding which will help them sustain the tipsy taxi operation, Palmere said. The STS tipsy taxi service has faced recent struggle because they have lost other sources of funding, he added. The vehicles used for the shuttle service will be the vehicles that STS uses for their Tipsy Taxi service. These consist of two 20 passenger shuttles, Palmere said.

“The Unitrans version of that is [a vehicle] used for the Amtrak shuttle,” he added. “That [vehicle] will serve as a backup.”

Most of the planning process for the shuttle service has been worked out, it is just a matter of gaining the proper funding to run the program, Palmere said. Unitrans and STS have suggested the city of Davis look for funding at the university level rather than the ASUCD budget, he added.

There may also be positive environmental impacts to operating this proposed shuttle service, said Susan Handy, director of sustainable transportation center and professor of environmental science and policy.

“While I probably would not use the shuttle, because I ride my bike [to work daily], I think it is a great idea,” Handy said. “I think it’s beneficial environmentally and economically.”

This shuttle service would make it easier to take transit from campus to downtown for those who would otherwise need to drive their cars downtown to run errands, Handy added. It encourages people who do drive to campus not to use their cars so much during the day.

“It also enables people who would not otherwise go downtown during lunch hour to do so,” Handy said.

Coordinators hope to have this proposed shuttle service functioning and open to the public by September upon finding sufficient funding. E-mail unitrans@ucdavis.edu for further information.

CAITLIN COBB can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com .

The California Department of Public Health has warned consumers not to eat certain brands of alfalfa sprouts due to salmonella contamination.

Salad Cosmo USA Corp. of Dixon, Calif., has recalled Salad Cosmo Alfalfa Sprouts throughout California and Washington, and Always Fresh and Alfa One packaged by J.H. Caldwell and Sons Inc., have been recalled in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Recent contamination in alfalfa sprouts caused supermarkets such as SaveMart to remove the vegetables off the shelves, according to the press release.

So far, there have been no reported illnesses.

“The source of contamination is under investigation, and scientific research has documented that seeds are a likely source of contamination,” said spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health Lea Brooks. “This is certainly one area that will be examined during the investigation.”

Although no illnesses have been reported, salmonella causes fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea. Salmonella is a food-borne illness that can lead to serious infection in children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems.

“Consuming raw sprouts is risky especially for people with weakened immune systems,” Brooks said.

Alfalfa gets contaminated through the process and sprouts can become affected in many different ways, said statewide alfalfa and forage extension specialist Dan Putman.

“There were indications several years ago that there are field contaminations during or after harvest or during sprouting processes,” Putman said.

Alfalfa contamination is considerably rare, said agronomy farm adviser with the UC Cooperative extension Shannon Mueller.

“The seed can get contaminated through the fields, through trucking, through harvest operations and to the field where they are being processed,” Mueller said.

Although alfalfa sprouts can get contaminated anywhere in the process of being produced, the sprout industry tries its best to reduce any signs of contamination.

“The sprout industry has been very proactive,” Mueller said. “The seed is tested through several processes to minimize the risk of food-borne illnesses. We are an industry that has tackled the issue head-on and will reduce any risk.”

Alfalfa sprouts go through several processes before being sold to the public. Even though there was alfalfa contamination, the industry recalled the sprouts quickly, proving that the safety protocols are promising.

“Even when there is a recall, there is an indication that the system is working,” Mueller said. “If testing shows any issue with the safety of the product, it can be recalled and prevent any incidents of food-borne illnesses.”

Sprouts are usually eaten raw with no additional treatments like cooking that eliminate bacteria that can cause disease.

Consumers who purchased these products should immediately discard or return their purchase for a refund. If there are any concerns, call (800) 495-3232.

JANET HUNG can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.