Bringing all staff up to $20.55 an hour would cost the council an extra $137.437 a year, Sanson said, but it was important.
Councillors have said they want an economy that works for all, Sanson said, and their economic development goal is to add well-paid jobs.
"Inequality gnaws the heart out of a community."
She presented 62 submissions in support of the living wage, gleaned during two mornings at the Whanganui River Markets.
Councillor Charlie Anderson said the cost of living was higher in Auckland, yet the living wage was set for the whole country.
But that meant that Auckland should have a higher rate, not that Whanganui should have a lower one, the group's submission said.
Councillor Rob Vinsen asked whether Whanganui's CEO would have a problem keeping wages relative if the council moved to a living wage, as Wellington City Council has.
Wellington did seem to have a problem with relativity after the change, Sanson said, with pressure to raise the wages of staff who had been slightly above the living wage.
"It's hard to say how much that would cost, but you would expect a little bit of pressure."
Councillors will debate what they have heard on May 22 and 23, and adopt their annual plan on June 27.
