So the city went ahead and hired Pat Salerno as city manager. His first day on the job is July 14. Seems like his hiring will be a plus for the business community. His track record on commercial and retail development is good, and he guided the construction of an arena in Sunrise, Fla., his previous gig.
Plus he’s not George Kolb. Many, many people in the business community felt Kolb was an obstacle to business growth and to development (one developer had an epic rant about Kolb and little trees a few years ago during an interview at The Eagle.) Kolb, of course, had the misfortune of following Chris Cherches, who had a legacy of getting projects done during his 18-year tenure. My guess is Salerno is built more in the Cherches mold, though I don’t think he will last 18 years.
I wonder if I can get one of those $700-a-month car allowances written into my next Coffee Break contract?
Yeah, probably not. But we’ll provide you with today’s links anyway.
- The Seattle Times is in Charleston, S.C., and says the pace has picked up at the two plants there that are working on the Dreamliner.
- Money Magazine says home prices are expected to fall in 75 of the 100 largest U.S. cities in the next 12 months. Wichita, however, is in the minority with a predicted increase of 1.5 percent, which is 11th on the list.
- More and more companies are turning to free gas cards to boost sales.
- Speaking of gas, the Detroit News says Ford is developing a plan to shift entire truck plants to car production.
- Fortune has a list of the 40 best stocks to retire on.
- And if you’re thinking about finding a job instead of retiring, here are 13 things not to do on your interview.
Employers in every state should be watching the progress of a new ordinance in San Francisco that mandates employer health spending and funds a government (city) health care program for the uninsured.
That means employers must pay for health insurance whether or not they want to (or whether or not they can afford it).
The ordinance requires employers to pay a specific amount of money — depending on company size and nonprofit/for-profit status — per hour for every employee for health care. It’s up to the company whether or not that goes into an employer-sponsored health insurance plan, a health savings account or to the city.
More specifically, it says:
- A private employer with between 20 and 99 employees and a nonprofit with 50 or more employees would, for any employee who has been employed for 90 days and works more than 10 hours per week, make health care expenditures of $1.17 per hour on behalf of that employee.
- A private employer with 100 or more employees would make health care expenditures of $1.76 per hour on behalf of each covered employee.
The Golden Gate Restaurant Association sued and the ordinance is being appealed, but a judge earlier this year said the ordinance was legal in the interim.
Employers, I imagine, are up in arms about this for a number of reasons. What kind of repercussions could an ordinance like this have in a city such as Wichita? Would it drive away corporations and hinder growth?
If you want to read the judge’s opinion on this, here’s the order:
The California court’s decision so far