Companies applying to San Marcos for jobs-based economic development incentives will have to pay a living wage if they hope to have access to public money from now on.

After San Marcos City Council unanimously approved a new economic development incentive policy Feb. 2, the city will only offer jobs-based incentives to companies that provide an average wage of $15 per hour and benefits for employees.

Council Member Scott Gregson said it is not uncommon to hear about the many families in San Marcos who are at risk of going without a meal in order to pay their rent or car loan.

“I’ve always heard the narrative that there are an inordinate number of families who require assistance to survive [in San Marcos],” Council Member Scott Gregson said. “We have scarce resources in our city, and I think with this amendment to our economic development policy we will no longer be incentivizing jobs that fall short of a living wage.”

The new policy does not preclude companies from applying for other incentives, such as sales or property tax rebates, but for companies applying for jobs-based incentives, only jobs that pay at least $15 per hour and include benefits will count toward the incentive.

For instance, if a company that relocated to San Marcos and received a jobs-based incentive employed 100 workers and 25 of those workers were paid at least $15 per hour in addition to benefits, the company would only be able to count the 25 workers toward the jobs incentive.

Other businesses not seeking jobs-based incentives are free to pay their employees the minimum wage or higher, council members said.

Council Member Jude Prather said he hoped the new incentive will not deter rehabilitation of blighted properties or large-scale employment opportunities, such as a resort or theme park.

“I’m hoping other communities in the region follow suit,” Council Member John Thomaides said. “It sure would be nice if we had an Austin-San Antonio corridor that valued our people as much as we value our profits or incentives.”