The Homeless Are an Economic Engine

The Seattle City Council last week voted to give Parks Department workers a premium of 10 percent over their regular hourly wage for sweeping the city's greenbelts of the homeless (or "cleaning them up," as Mayor Nickels likes to say). The increase was pitched by the union and blessed by the mayor's office before the council approved it 7-0. Council member Nick Licata, who oversees the Labor Policy Committee, says this type of request isn't uncommon when city employees are asked to do something new. Apparently Parks employees, even with the special suits they were provided for the spring sweep of Kinnear Park, said they weren't too enthused about cleaning up syringes and moldy cans of food. The green light for extra pay comes just in time for the next sweep, planned in the coming weeks for the "jungle" greenbelt on the western flank of Beacon Hill. Keeping the city's wooded areas "clean" comes at a price. Even without the premium, the two-day sweep of Kinnear was expensive: $27,866 for staff, a rented tractor, portable toilets, safety equipment, immunizations, and dump fees.