The second major hearing on Commissioner Amanda Fritz's paid sick time proposal was all set for next Wednesday at Portland City Hall, the next step toward approval after a series of task force meetings led by Fritz and Commissioner Dan Saltzman on how to refine the idea.

But this afternoon, Fritz's office announced a one-week delay in that schedule. The next hearing now won't come until at least March 7, with a vote still to follow. Fritz says she needs a bit more time to work out changes suggested by task force members. The group finished up its work on Tuesday, only a few days before the deadline for scheduling an item on next week's council agenda.

The hearing on Earned Sick Leave that was scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 27th, will instead occur on Thursday, March 7th at 3:00 p.m. “We are responding to helpful input from the community, and are taking the time to incorporate feedback,” Commissioner Fritz stated. “Our final Task Force meeting was on Tuesday and the deadline for filing the revised Ordinance was Thursday. In order to be respectful of the process and consider the issues discussed in the task force meetings carefully, we determined that an additional week would be beneficial. Council support for this important policy remains encouraging,” she said. A revised version of the proposed Code will be posted next week.

Is it really just a matter of a few days? It's been looking like, for a while, that the votes are in place; Commissioner Steve Novick last week wrote a stirring letter to the Oregonian championing the idea.

Or is something more substantial in play? I'll update if and when needed.