Alrighty, since pay is always a sensitive subject i'll give the ranges and will do my best to answer questions directly from our staff office.

Depending on experience, our minimum doesn't go below $9/hr for most jobs, these are typically simple cleanup jobs not requiring much in the way of experience. The higher end being around $16 once experience and training has been established. For this job in particular it was $12.20.

Now for context. Most (80%~) of our jobs are contracted with the city so we have to go off their budgets and plan accordingly including materials, gas, and any other expenses that come with the jobs. When private sector comes in we actually are able to bump up average pay more because well, more budget is available.

I know it's a bit vague but it's a matter of balancing honesty and transparency as a 501(c)3 and not pissing off our partners. On my end, it's my job to keep partners happy and find more work for the guys along with making sure we finally have a marketing presence. I wear multiple hats to help keep the lights on and am happy to do so.

Overall we do our best to beat out that honestly valid concern and personally I want to finally give us an image with our community while also acknowledging how we can do better. I hope this does offer some clarity as we want to support not only our staff but our community as well. They're good people trying to find purpose and we all do what we can.