Some come in early and stay late. Between those hours, they counsel, console, congratulate and comfort countless homeless and poor people.

But at the end of the day, they earn less pay than other employees in comparable city-contract jobs. And this is something that has worried city homeless providers for years. At a recent hearing for the District's Committee for Human Services, Chapman Todd, division director at Catholic Community Services (CCS), called on the committee to address the low wages paid to area shelter workers. He described the common entry-level hourly wage of $9 to $9.50 as "well below what is needed to attract and retain many qualified potential employees."

The entry-level frontline shelter workers contracted through the District of Columbia earn about $2.50 less per hour than other employees contracted by the city.

Last June, the City Council began requiring contractors to pay employees a living wage, which members adopted at $11.75 an hour. But some nonprofit agencies for now are exempt from paying the living wage, because they are operating under city contracts approved before the living wage law went into effect.

Assuming a shelter's employees are to be paid a living wage under the law, Haley West, public relations manager at CCS, said that "applicability" and actually paying the living wage are two different things.

Officials at the Department of Human Services agree.

"The Living Wage Act of 2006 stipulated that the living wage was to be paid if funds were appropriated to do so. No funds have been appropriated for payment of the living wage for any services provided by the Department of Human Services," said George Shepard, acting administrator of the Family Services Administration for DHS.

Shepard estimates that it would cost an additional $4 to $5 million for DHS' homeless services contracts to comply with the living wage law. It's not clear how the District would fill this funding gap.

"Our organization supports the Living Wage Act and its quick implementation. However, the D.C. government needs to provide adequate funding to its subcontractors to cover this cost increase," West said.

Todd suggested that the minimum living wage be paid to all shelters' low-wage workers contracted by the District. CCS, a subcontractor with Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, manages 11 homeless shelters in the District.

The rationale behind living wage ordinances is that governments should not contract with or subsidize employers who pay poverty-level wages.

just the minimum wage could never provide a decent way of life. In the decade since then, more than 140 local governments have adopted living wage laws, which means that entities which receive or benefit from local government contracts must pay their employees enough to provide food, shelter, transportation and a reasonable quality of life in that particular location.

D.C.'s living wage law mandates that recipients of contracts or government assistance of $100,000 or more, or subcontractors of those recipients who receive $15,000 or more, must pay their employees a living wage.

For many area shelters, the confusion begins with the fine print.

A shelter may be exempt from the living wage altogether. Or, the living wage may not be applicable to a shelter for a period of time. Even if a shelter's employees qualify for a living wage, the cash to pay them may not be available.

While the living wage may be applicable to CCS's shelters, Katherine Wescott, an attorney for the City Council, is not sure about the rest of the city's homeless shelters. "There is not a blanket yes or no answer," said Wescott, who advises the Committee on Human Services.

Wescott explained that a shelter's non-profit status, combined with its employment of fewer than 50 people, could exempt it from the living wage law. In addition, the living wage law was written to be prospective and not retroactive. This means that if a shelter's contract was entered into prior to June 8, 2006, the day the law became effective, its employees will have to wait for a renewal or extension of the contract with the city before the living wage would apply.

In some cases, this means years until shelters workers will be paid a living wage.

This fiscal year, the District's Department of Human Services will spend almost $33 million on the city's homeless residents. Of this total, $24.8 million, or 76%, is scheduled to be spent on shelter and housing. The remaining $7.9 million will be spent on a variety of services, including outreach, case management and food according to Shepard.

The debate will continue as the budget process moves forward. The Human Services Committee is expected to release a report in early May. Advocates hope the committee report will offer suggestions that can help find money to close the gap.