NORTHAMPTON — Despite a number of councilors expressing concerns about how such an increase would affect local businesses, the City Council approved a resolution Thursday supporting an increase of the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.
“Economic prosperity and economic justice are not incompatible,” said City Council Vice President Ryan O’Donnell, one of the resolution’s co-sponsors.
The resolution passed by a vote of 8 in favor, with Ward 5 Councilor David Murphy abstaining.
Although resolutions possess no legal force, they do express the will of the council. The minimum wage resolution supports two bills currently before the Legislature that would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by $1 year over four years, and then increase the wage with the cost of living once it has reached $15 an hour. The current minimum wage is $11 an hour.
This indexing was a component of the resolution that O’Donnell highlighted in his remarks, as did the resolution’s other co-sponsor, Ward 1 Councilor Maureen Carney.
“The indexing is the most important piece of the legislation,” Carney said.
Carney, who collected signatures to place an initiative on the ballot, hopes the Legislature approves an increase before it goes to voters.
A vote on the resolution was called off at the council’s previous meeting, after Ward 2 Councilor Dennis Bidwell asked that it be discussed in committee first, so that affected parties would get a chance to speak to it.
The meeting of the Community Resources Committee on Dec. 18 subsequently drew substantial input, with chairwoman Ward 4 Councilor Gina-Louise Sciarra expressing gratitude for the testimony given.
Bidwell hopes that outcomes from raising the wage would be largely beneficial, though he noted that some restaurant owners have stated that they would have to close if such a raise happened. Nevertheless, he voted for the resolution.
“I think it’s appropriate that we move forward,” he said.
Both Bidwell and Ward 6 Councilor Marianne LaBarge said they liked the idea of a second, lower tier of minimum wage, especially for young, entry-level workers. Indeed, LaBarge suggested that O’Donnell consider inserting language around it before the resolution has its second reading.
LaBarge voted in favor of the resolution, noting “people are having a lot of problems. People need to have a good quality of life.”
Ward 3 Councilor James Nash said that Northampton does not have a corporate economy. While he supported the measure, Nash would like to see other actions taken in tandem with it, such as raising more revenue from the wealthy.
City Council President William Dwight also hit on this theme, noting that he would like to see a progressive income tax statewide. He views raising the minimum wage as a mitigation for the damage being done by larger institutional actors.
The only councilor not to support the resolution was Ward 5 Councilor David Murphy, who noted that he had been a union steward and that he owned a business.
Murphy, who abstained from voting, expressed concern that raising the wage to too high a level could cause employers to cut entry-level jobs.
He also felt that the topic required more study to determine what that level might be.
“I think that could wind up hurting the very people we want to help,” he said.
The resolution will be subjected to a second reading at the council’s next regular meeting on Jan. 4.
In other business, the council voted to take up the mayor’s veto of its anti-downtown surveillance ordinance at its Jan. 4 meeting. Because of language in the city charter, the council was unable to vote on the veto Thursday.
Dwight, who will not be run for the council presidency again when the council reorganizes itself in the new year, was given a round of applause by his colleagues in recognition of his six years as president.
Dwight assured the public, however, that he would still be staying on as a member of the council. “I will be unmuzzled and unfettered,” he said.
The council’s organizational meeting will take place on Jan. 2 in Council Chambers at 1 p.m., following the council’s 10 a.m. swearing in at the Senior Center.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com