Fort Collins City Council members want more information before they vote on adopting a local minimum wage higher than the state level.
City staff shared preliminary research with council members Tuesday about a potential wage increase from $12.56 an hour, the current state level, to a local level of $15 an hour. But a few council members wondered if that would be high enough to make a meaningful difference in residents’ lives, while another council member said she was concerned about adverse impacts.
The city so far has hired a consulting group, Economic & Planning Systems, to assess potential impacts of a local minimum wage. Staff are also surveying business owners and community members and meeting with local groups like the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce. The state law that allows local minimum wages mandates that, if they’re set, they must take effect in January. So if council members want the increase to take effect in 2023, city staff estimate they’ll need to vote on a resolution by November.
Staff said they chose the $15 figure for the community survey based in part off Denver’s local minimum wage of $15.87 an hour, adjusted annually for increases in the Consumer Price Index. Denver is the only city that has adopted a local minimum wage since 2019 state legislation allowed the practice. The state law caps annual increases at $1.75 or 15%, whichever is higher, until the minimum wage reaches the level adopted by local government. For a $15 minimum wage,...
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