NORTHAMPTON — The City Council has referred a resolution endorsing an increase in the state minimum wage to its Community Resources Committee.
The resolution would support the spirit of legislation pending in Boston that would phase in minimum wage increases until it reaches $15 per hour.
The council took the action last Thursday, after a public comment period during which several people spoke in favor of the resolution.
“Raising the minimum wage will benefit everyone,” said Kitty Callaghan, who serves on the steering committee for Living Wage Western Mass.
She spoke about how raising the minimum would benefit employers by boosting worker morale and reducing employee turnover, would help the families of low-wage workers by reducing their levels of stress, and would benefit the community by reducing the number of people relying on public support programs.
In her remarks supporting the resolution, Patty Healey noted that it calls for incremental increases, with the minimum reaching $15 an hour in 2022.
“Just think about what the cost of living is going to be,” she said.
Some who came to the meeting to speak on the council’s ordinance to restrict municipal surveillance technology downtown also voiced their support for a $15 minimum wage.
The resolution was sponsored by City Council Vice President Ryan O’Donnell and Ward 1 Councilor Maureen Carney.
Noting the criticism that the council gets for passing many resolutions, O’Donnell pointed out that the minimum wage resolution would create an automatic adjustment. Once the wage hits $15 an hour, it would be indexed to the cost of living.
“If you don’t like this resolution, support it,” he said, because if it passes, there would never be need for another.
“The timing is right,” said Carney, who also noted that a statewide ballot measure to raise the minimum wage is pending.
Ward 2 Councilor Dennis Bidwell said that he is a supporter of Fight For $15 nationally, and that he expects to vote for the resolution. However, he expressed a preference for referring the resolution to committee to allow for more consideration of its local effect and to hear from those affected.
He also floated the idea of possibly creating a second, lower tier of minimum wage for teenage workers.
The councilors discussed whether referring the resolution to committee would delay its adoption beyond the end of the year. It was determined that if it were taken up at the Community Resources Committee meeting on Dec. 18, the council could vote on its first and second readings at its Dec. 21 meeting.
“I have no interest in delaying this,” said Bidwell.
Ward 7 Councilor Alisa Klein asked that a number of people with a range of different thoughts on the issue be lined up to speak to it in committee.
Ward 6 Councilor Marianne LaBarge noted the importance of reaching out to businesses who could not afford to be a part of the Chamber of Commerce for input.
“There are concerns,” said LaBarge, noting the issue of high rents for downtown Northampton businesses, and employers there not knowing if they’ll be able to afford to keep employees if the wage goes up.
Ward 5 Councilor David Murphy, meanwhile, said that he wanted to offer his thoughts at the committee about how a minimum wage raise would affect a small nonprofit he’s involved with that is on a fixed income, and that it would force the nonprofit to get rid of employees.
O’Donnell also made technical amendments to the resolution. One changed the resolution from supporting two bills in front of the Legislature to supporting legislation in the spirit of the two bills, as the language of those two bills could change.
Both amendments and the committee referral were passed with no dissent.