ATTN: The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) is a 501(c)4 and does not endorse candidates. We will print all candidates’ responses to our questions on our website and share them via our email newsletter.
County Commission Candidate Mike Byerly
1) Do you support paying a living wage to all County workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? The ACLC defines a living wage at $15.39 an hour, the MIT Living Wage Calculator rate for a family of four with two working adults and employer-provided healthcare.
a. What is your plan to get us there using the Alachua County Government Minimum Wage ordinance?
b. How will you ensure contracted workers are paid the set wage?
c. What ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community?
Yes.
I have voted every year to implement the phase-in of the Minimum Wage, and if re-elected, will continue to.
Alachua County has adopted a notification program to ensure that contracted employees are made aware of their rights, and in tandem with the County’s Wage Theft Recovery Ordinance, this empowers employees to react if they’re not paid their legally required salary.
The only real levers available to the County government are to pay a real local minimum wage, strongly encourage all other local government entities to follow suit, and to hire directly when contracted labor is unable/unwilling to provide comparable wages and benefits. We have done these things in Alachua County government during my tenure. Collectively, these actions can exercise an upward-pressure on prevailing wages in the community.
2) Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted county workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to hurricanes, pandemic, etc.)?
I can’t give a categorical answer to this question. My response would depend upon circumstances.
3) Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would:
a. Ensure universal licensing and inspections for all rental properties?
b. Inform renters of their rights under existing laws?
c. Offer an alternative to courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages?
d. Protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy and water efficiency?
Yes.
Yes.
I don’t know enough about how this would work to give a firm answer, but I supported a parallel process for the recovery of stolen wages.
Yes.
4) What role should local government and private developers play in ensuring that there is adequate affordable housing in our community? What is your plan to help our community overcome its current shortage of affordable housing?
We struggle with this issue, as does every community in America experiencing growth, for reasons far beyond the control of local governments, and there are no easy or effective answers. The most obvious solutions – rent controls and government housing projects – do not have a successful track record. I support requirements on private developers to provide a mix of housing sizes and amenities within developments of a certain size, though in practice this often has a marginal effect on market prices. I would support the idea of a form of impact fee to provide housing assistance for those in our community threatened with homelessness, if we are able to legally structure such a fee. Direct public assistance should be directed to those most in need: the homeless, and those about to become homeless. I recently forwarded to county staff for consideration by the County Commission a proposal from members of our community to facilitate the creation of year-round Recreational Vehicle parks as a low-cost housing option for those with an interest in it. I support full annual funding by the Florida legislature of the Sadowski trust fund, to provide financial assistance for affordable housing initiatives. I won’t deny, however, that all of these ideas only nibble at the edges of the larger problem.
5) Federal and state laws give most workers the right to form and join unions. Do you support the right of all private and public sector workers to organize a union? Would you publicly support workers in our community who are seeking workplace rights, including a living wage and the right to union representation?
Yes to both.
6) Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of responsible contractors and certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer-funded projects?
Yes, as long as adequate local competition to insure accountability to taxpayers can be insured.
7) Do you support lowering the Sheriff’s budget and diverting funds to social services?
I do, and have, for two decades, though with limited success. It takes a majority of votes to bring about that change, and elected officials seem to have difficulty standing up to people with uniforms and guns. If I return to office, I will continue the effort; maybe this year will be a turning point.
8) How will you reform the Alachua County Court Services, which recommends cash bail over 90% of the time?
The Alachua County Court Services Department, once a state leader in innovative practices that divert non-dangerous offenders from the County jail, has fallen behind in recent years. It hasn’t been due to a lack of funding. Under the current County Manager’s leadership, we are overhauling the Department, and attempting to rein in some of the interpersonal rivalries which have harmed workplace morale. To the second part of the question, the County Commission has, in the past, considered a publicly funded bail system for those unable to afford bail, to supplement and compete with the private sector bond system, and including the possibility of a privately funded organization to do the same. It ultimately received a lot of push back and fizzled out. I’m prepared to reopen the discussion.
9) The Alachua County Commission is responsible for facilities and utility-related costs at the jail including the current inmate phone contract. Do you support making this contract more equitable so that incarcerated people can stay connected to their loved ones?
Yes.