ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT BEE CAVE A large percentage of those who work in Bee Cave work in industries that come with a salary less than the average resident.
Annual average salary in Bee Cave
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$69,627
2019
“I think we’ve got to solve this quickly, because it’s really impacting us,” he said. “We’ve really got to look at this hard and get serious.” John Dallas, general manager for the Sonesta Bee Cave Austin Hotel, said he has been able to hang on to most of his original staff, but if he did have turnover, “literally we would be dead. It’s really dire. The gasoline [prices rising] just adds to the fire.” “We can’t find new people,” he said. “There’s just nobody out there—dish- washers, servers, housekeepers. We are riding with the people we have.” Dallas said the issue of getting work- ers to the Lake Travis area to work service-based jobs is not new. “Barton Creek Resort 10-15 years ago would take a van over to Target at Lamar [Boulevard] and [US] 183 and pick up [workers] every day at that spot and put about 10 people in a van and bring them back and forth,” he said. Business owners brainstorming Ideas presented to help with transportation included rideshare stipends, a carpool van that would drop off and pick up in centralized locations, and funding gas cards that could be given to employees. Using rideshare to ferry employees to and from work did not seem like the best option for Sylvia Edwards, managing partner of Buenos Aires Cafe, since she said back-of-the- house employees do not usually have credit or debit cards or smartphones. “I’m not saying we need to have a complete bus line, but at key times— in the morning, when shifts end in early afternoon and evening—bring them to a centralized area,” she said. Edwards said she has been working the floor, kitchen and pastry positions because of the lack of personnel.
$84,201
2021
Bee Cave retail worker average salary
$41,854
2019
Bee Cave employment
$49,850
2021
+7.3%
2021
23.7%
Bee Cave accommodation and food services annual salary
12.8%
$26,406
2019
USA employment
$30,071
2021
+5.4%
2021
of Bee Cave workers work in retail
work in accommodation and food services
Bee Cave arts, entertainment and recreation annual salary
Texas employment
$37,359
2019
SOURCE: WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS CAPITAL AREA/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
+4.5%
$39,669
2021
2021
WHO WORKS WHERE?
“We really need to focus on that kind of help,” she said. “I’m sure there are other areas that are in need in this respect.” She also said the group should investigate if any grants from the fed- eral, state or local governments with matching funds were available to assist with transportation costs, and she would be willing to contribute monthly to a fund. King said bringing Capital Metro to Bee Cave is not realistic, since the city would need to raise property taxes by 10 times to contract for the service. Proposed plans Christy Black, franchise owner at Primrose School of Bee Cave, won- dered if it would be possible to shut- tle workers from Primrose’s Mueller location in one of the school’s buses, which sit unused after children are dropped off for the day. She said even though it could get logistically hairy, it would be easy for workers to take public transportation to Mueller, then bus over to Bee Cave. Area business owners were in
how to distribute the funds. The city also is working on a 78738 worker appreciation card, which would provide those who work in the 78738 ZIP code with 10%-20% dis- counts at businesses that sign on. Another strategy the city worked on with Darrell Davis, principal broker consultant with Star Benefits Group, was a benefits package small busi- nesses in Bee Cave could provide to employees at little to no cost. Small businesses receive a tax credit when they provide employees with health insurance, which means if a company bought into the plan pre- sented, it would be of no cost to the employer after receiving the tax credit. The health insurance benefit includes $0 copay for primary and urgent care, $0 virtual primary and urgent care, $0 unlimited prescrip- tions for more than 200 medications as well as 100% paid for preventive care, access to mental health benefits, a personal health manager and a per- sonalized health incentive program. Davis also provided information on benefits such as credit improvement,
92.2% of people employed in Bee Cave live outside of it 90.1% of people who live in zip code78738 are employed outside of it
SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
agreement that raising money for gas would be the most immediate way to provide relief for workers being affected by rising prices. An idea that was suggested was crowdsourcing transportation for lower-wage workers by posting a QR code at area businesses in partnership with the Bee Cave Chamber of Com- merce, asking for donations to help provide funds for gas. So far, city Communications Spe- cialist Dori Kelley said nine businesses have pledged $380 each to a gas fund. She said the next step is figuring out
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