Greg Hudson is reporting in the Register-Star nonprofit service providers for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are campaigning for state funding to help pay for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed minimum wage increase. A study published last month by a coalition of agencies estimated it would cost approximately $1.7 billion per year for every nonprofit agency statewide to raise its hourly wage to $15. If that increase is implemented gradually, the cost in the first year would be $270 million, eventually rising to $1.7 billion by 2021. Organizations like Arc of Ulster-Greene and Coarc, in Columbia County, have asked the state to include $270 million in the 2016-17 state budget to allow nonprofit care providers to implement the wage hike. Kenneth Stall, Coarc's chief executive officer said the hourly wage for that agency's employees is largely dependent upon their job. "Many of our entry-level employees are making between $9.25 and $9.50 an hour,” he said. John McHugh, executive director of Arc of Ulster-Greene said an increase to $15 an hour would help his agency be more competitive. “It is difficult to attract staff because our rate of pay is low compared to other fields,” he said. However, raising the agency's rate of pay would cost $2.4 million in the first year, and the agency's share of the requested $270 million would total only $380,000. “Our organization relies almost entirely on the state for the funding we need to operate, so to be given a mandate to increase our employee wages without being given the funding to pay for it would be catastrophic for agencies all over the state,” McHugh said. Read the full story in the Register-Star.