The Longmont City Council opted to pay $32,899 of its contingency fund for a study on the economic impacts of a local minimum wage increase.
In 2023, the Boulder County Consortium of Cities, which includes Longmont, decided to tackle the prospect of increasing the local minimum wage in 2023-24. If they decided to increase the minimum wage it would go into effect in 2025.
The Longmont City Council indicated that it would like to see an independent economic analysis of the impacts of a local minimum wage increase, according to the council communications.
The other cities agreed to the proposal and determined that the overall cost of the study would be around $125,000. The cities in the consortium divided the cost among its members based on the general fund revenue of each city, according to Sandi Seader, assistant city manager.
Longmont agreed to be the coordinating agency on the communication, coordination and administration of the agreement with the vendor. According to Seader, Longmont took on the role because it has a strong purchasing department. Not all cities have a purchasing department that can do the type of work necessary to see the project through, she said.
The economic analysis is projected to be complete by mid-May and the community involvement will be conducted from January to May, Seader said. The staff would bring all the information to council for consideration in June or July.
