These questions are up for debate in the Fort Collins minimum wage discussion

As Fort Collins City Council considers whether to establish a minimum wage that exceeds Colorado's rate, Coloradoan Conversations participants have some questions and some perspectives they'd like the council members to consider.

Last week, we asked residents to articulate any questions they believe still need to be answered and what considerations the council should think about before making their decision. In the conversation that council had at a recent work session, there was support for establishing a local minimum wage that rises to $18 or $19 per hour within the next three or four years.

Looking through the conversation at Coloradoan.com, these questions emerged as those council is encouraged to think on. In the leadup to the Nov. 15 council meeting where the issue is scheduled for consideration, the Coloradoan will do more reporting to dig into some of these questions, and residents would benefit from learning about the information and perspectives that council members are considering to form their decision.

For now, the council agenda packet from the work session shows the information presented to council included review of local survey results, a Local Minimum Wage Report prepared by the Colorado Department of Labor, a review of the studies around raising minimum wage and a recommendation from the city's Economic Advisory Board. It addresses some of the questions and discussion that took place in Coloradoan Conversations.

Will a higher minimum wage help minimum wage workers?

Mimi K. notes that with the cost of living in Fort Collins, the state's minimum wage of about $12 per hour cannot provide a living wage: "According to MIT, $18 per hour is already less than a living wage in Fort Collins. A single adult needs to make $18.39 to be able to live here now. In three years this will go up. "

Also notable, in 2020, the area median income in Fort Collins for a family of four is $107,300. AMI is used to determine who qualifies for lower-income housing.

For David R., the answer is yes, the raise will help, and urgency is needed: "Our City Council shouldn't be tepid, cautious, or study raising the minimum until it is 'DOA'. City Council only has until the end of this year to craft legislation that will allow them to raise the minimum wage in Fort Collins in 2023, by state law, a maximum of $1.75 an hour."

But many conversation participants are skeptical of the impacts of a higher minimum wage. Their arguments against increasing it is that it will backfire, leading to fewer jobs and more competition for those jobs, which will actually hurt the most vulnerable.

The research shows positives and negatives.

For example, a July 2019 study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office — notably before COVID-19 upended the job market — summarized it this way: "For most low-wage workers, earnings and family income would increase, which would lift some families out of poverty. But other low-wage workers would become jobless, and their family income would fall — in some cases, below the poverty threshold."

Steven K. wants council to address that research: "I think it's important that the council members speak to the nonpartisan research that shows how raising the minimum wage can result in job losses and increase unemployment for lower-skilled workers. What is the council’s plan to ensure small businesses do not close shop because they can't afford to pay the higher wages?"

"Miso Robotics is delivering robots that can flip burgers and fry potatoes. Touchscreens mean we do not need anyone to take the order. A robot can make a pizza. The value of raising the minimum wage is short-term; the cost is longer-term," David A. said.

"Personally I have found since COVID that prices on meals have gone up considerably, along with not being terribly good and usually mediocre service. If you raise (minimum wage) that high, the service might improve but the cost will make eating out prohibitive. ... I understand wanting to entice more service workers and cost of living, but it will not be sustainable in the long run. People will simply stop going out," noted one commenter.

Do we expect minimum wage to provide a living wage?

What was intended when the federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour was established in 1938 is certainly up for debate: Was it meant to eventually lead to a living wage or to block the exploitation of workers?

Even today, there isn't agreement on what minimum wage ought to do.

"I for one have no interest in helping businesses underpay employees while reaping massive profits. It seem as though the big corporations are making massive profits these days," Zach H. said. "Having wages that people cannot live on and then giving people food stamps or rental assistance is one way of doing this, but is that not subsidizing the workers of businesses who should be paying employees more?"

"Workers know damn well that if their employer could get away with paying employees nothing, they would," John M. contends.

Brendan L. counters that workers in the market already can set the standard: "Obviously employers would pay nothing if they could, but they can't because they have to compete for workers. If you pay too low, people will work for other employers, start their own businesses, or just not work."

But "not every single person needing a job is responsible for rent, a mortgage or even a car payment," Andy O. said. "In my household, we were outnumbered by a ratio of 3:1 by job-seekers just needing a few extra bucks. They just needed gas money and concert tickets."

"No one expects to remain in a low-paying job forever, it is a stepping stone until a better opportunity comes along," James P. said.

Though indicating he doesn't think raising minimum wage is the solution, Brendan L. asks: "Why shouldn't someone who makes pizzas for a living be able to afford rent? ... It makes sense that post-college jobs pay better, but in a world of so much abundance people should be able to live on the wage from less-skilled jobs." ... (His idea: "To actually help people, we need to make housing cheaper (by increasing supply!) or just do straightforward transfers. If you want to tax rich people and give the money to poor people, then just do that instead of a convoluted tax on owners of businesses with low-wage workers!")

And what about those youngest employees, many of whom aren't relying on their job for living expenses? Will council consider any exceptions for age?

"How does this work for the 16-year-olds that get their first job at McDonald’s or a family friend’s gift shop?" Andy O. asked. "Are 16-year-olds automatically entitled to a 'living wage'?"

Will it harm businesses? And by extension, more than just employers?

"You can find all sorts of research regarding the impact of minimum wage on job creation/retention and the research is very mixed," Mike S. said. "However you can find research that shows recent minimum wage increases caused employers to cut back on the number of hours minimum-wage earners work. ... You can also find research showing a correlation between product price increases and minimum wage increases."

There are implications for the city government and taxpayers that one commenter wants to see addressed: "I would ask council to fully consider how establishing a $19/hour minimum wage will impact the city as the second-largest employer," Joe R. said. "The city will need massive new infusions of revenue to pay for the council wishlist, yet many part-time, seasonal and entry-level jobs within the city organization pay less than $19 per hour."

And then there's the domino effect, Joe R. said: "Not so easy to just change the number for those positions, since they will now be on par or close to the wage of their supervisor. It's called wage compression. All employees will demand higher pay if the least experienced, least productive member of the team gets a raise."

James P. wonders if the council members have considered the potential for employers leaving Fort Collins: "Imposing fixed high hourly wages would bankrupt many small businesses or cause them to relocate to nearby cities ... which then causes the city and job seekers to lose out on available job opportunities and the tax revenues that those businesses generate. No one wins if jobs go away and tax revenues decrease."

What investments will be required to enforce a higher minimum wage?

Mayor Jeni Arndt noted the challenge of establishing an enforcement system in a matter of weeks if council decides to pass a local minimum wage to take effect Jan. 1. Joe R. wondered about the overall cost of doing that.

"A secondary consideration should be how the city will monitor and enforce this policy," he said, noting that even though council delayed enforcement the first year, a tight labor market and the possibility of recession could drive the city "headlong over the cliff."

The agenda packet during the work session noted that the city "has a few possible enforcement avenues including authorizing specially commissioned officers to write civil infraction notices of violation of the minimum wage ordinance into Fort Collins municipal court after receipt and investigation of a credible complaint. It is difficult to estimate staff resources needed to investigate and/or structure court proceedings. Staff has not yet met with court staff to discuss the city’s best enforcement options."

Are council members talking to employers?

The council agenda for the work session notes that a city project team met with the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce and the Latino Chamber of Commerce, conducted a survey of employees and employers, and connected one-on-one, in small groups and via emails.

Results of the survey are available on the city website.

Mike S. asks: "Have any (council members) talked to business owners that hire a large number of minimum wage workers? Have they done any outreach to Fort Collins business owners?"

Stacie J. believes the impact will be harshest for local enterprises: "The minimum wage increase will not hurt large corporations; it will hurt small local businesses. If you think a local restaurant is making massive profits, then you have no idea the profit margins mom and pop restaurants operate under."

Andy O., a local business owner, shared a warning about impacts to their own business: "If the minimum wage goes to $18 per hour, our experienced folks will have to be paid even higher. It simply can’t be done. Our contractual rates won’t cover the increase. We would quickly lay off every employee with a Fort Collins address. ... If anything good came out of COVID it’s that it allowed us to hire remote workers. People in WY, KS, TX, NE who like working from home would love to have these jobs."

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins' minimum wage discussion centers on these questions