pWATERTOWN — Jefferson Rehabilitation Center will hold a public forum to discuss upcoming changes that the agency may face./ppOn the agenda for the meeting is a discussion of how Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s controversial a href="http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/it-doesnt-make-sense-15-minimum-wage-could-hurt-north-country-hospitals-nonprofits-20160103"$15 minimum wage proposal will impact the agency/a. The event will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Savory Downtown, 300 Washington St./ppIn January, Executive Director Howard W. Ganter told the Times that 420 of JRC’s 650 employees make less than $15 an hour. He said it would cost the agency about $6 million to comply with the governor’s proposal by 2021./pp“We’re not going to be able to afford those increases,” he said. “The compression factor is huge; everybody is going to expect a raise as the minimum wage increases.”/ppChanges to JRC’s Production Unlimited, a sheltered workshop that employs locals with disabilities, also will be discussed on Wednesday./ppUpdated regulations issued by the state Office for Persons with Developmental Disabilities will force the West Main Street workshop to ensure at least 25 percent of its employees not be developmentally disabled by 2019. /ppMr. Ganter hopes Wednesday’s forum will help lead to the development of an integrated business model for Production Unlimited./ppThe forum also will address potential changes to JRC’s day habilitation services, its residential system and the need for an advocacy group./ppThe JRC Foundation will provide an introductory presentation, explaining how it assists the agency in meeting its mission./ppA question-and-answer session will follow, and all members of the public are encouraged to attend. /ppFor more information, call JRC at 836-1260./p
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