Fort Collins won't see an increase in the local minimum wage after City Council voted down any proposed increases in a split 4-3 vote Tuesday.
Council members Kelly Ohlson, Julie Pignataro and Mayor Pro Tem Emily Francis voted in favor of a local minimum wage ordinance, and council members Shirley Peel, Susan Gutowsky, Tricia Canonico and Mayor Jeni Arndt voted against it.
Raising the minimum wage was identified as one of council's 31 priorities to accomplish by the upcoming November election.
With the local ordinance voted down, the city will continue to follow the state’s minimum wage, which is $13.65 per hour and $10.63 per hour for tipped workers.
In Fort Collins, a living wage for a single adult working full-time is $18.92 per hour, and a living wage for a full-time, dual-income family with a child is $21.85 per adult, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Colorado law passed in 2016 set a statewide minimum wage, including scheduled increases, and allowed municipalities to approve their own local minimum wage ordinances, acknowledging that different areas of the state have different costs of living. The county and city of Denver are the only places that have set a higher minimum wage, passed in 2019.
Denver's cost of living is 8.7% higher than Fort Collins, and its current minimum wage is $17.29 and $14.27 for tipped workers, according to Colorado State University postdoctoral researcher Emily Gallichotte.
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