By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
The motion to implement an incremental minimum wage increase in the County failed by a narrow margin during the Feb. 6 Los Alamos County Council meeting.
The motion failed 4-3 with Council Chair Denise Derkacs, Councilors Randall Ryti and Suzy Havemann voting in favor and Council Vice Chair Theresa Cull and Councilors David Reagor, Keith Lepsch and Melanee Hand voting against.
Ryti made the motion, amending the published ordinance, to implement an annual $1 per hour increase to the minimum wage, which is $12 per hour, for the next three years. This would be effective Jan. 1, 2025. Additionally, he proposed a .50 cent per hour increase for students for the next three years and a .25 cent per hour increase for tipped employees for the next three years.
He proposed that the increases would also reflect an increase, if any, based on the Consumer Price Index for the Western Region for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
The original ordinance as published proposed increasing minimum wage to $15 per hour as well as $13.50 per hour for student employees and $3.75 per hour for tipped employees, effective July 1 with annual increases based on the CPI Index.
Ryti also noted that Council set the minimum wage for County employees at $15 per hour in March 2019.
Havemann said she supported this motion.
“I fundamentally believe Los Alamos should lead and not follow,” she said. “I think it is important that we try to help people and individuals who might otherwise fall through the cracks and maybe don’t have an opportunity or the means to advocate for themselves. I don’t think we would be going out on the limb here increasing our minimum wage from the current state-mandated $12 an hour up to eventually … $15 per hour. Thirty states and dozens of local governments have already taken action to raise their minimum wages … I think a desired outcome of this is to raise the floor, to raise all votes, to raise income levels and strive to have fewer people relying on government subsidized social programs. I also believe activity begets activity … By taking this action other counties and cities might be encouraged to do the same and then this could raise the quality of life for all New Mexicans.”
Derkacs also voiced support, noting that the motion modified the published ordinance by requiring incremental increases rather than a single higher increase, making it “more reasonable for the employers to adjust to incremental increases in costs while also helping the people who live and work in the County.”
She also noted, “When people are paid low wages … and they have to depend on public assistance, the entire community … is then supplementing the wages of individual employees. By increasing the minimum wage, the costs to the employer would be expected to be passed on to those who use their services.”
Hand opposed the motion.
“Most of the input that I have heard and read doesn’t support an increase and identifies more negative impacts than positives,” she said. “Considering who has skin in the game, which is basically small businesses, they don’t seem to be asking for this mandatory wage increase. Raising the minimum wage is not going to solve the real issue of affordability to live in Los Alamos and could actually make it worse for more people by raising prices. There is a complicated domino effect for businesses who know the details. Many businesses already pay higher wages for workers and know what their market can bear.”
Rather than raise minimum wage, Hand said she would like to see the Family Medical Leave Act get passed at the state level.
Cull said she also had doubts about raising the minimum wage; pointing out that raising the minimum wage still doesn’t make it a living wage. She also questioned if this was the right time to increase wages.
“In a time when there’s lots of employees looking for work, I think that’s when a minimum wage is really important because employers will try to hire employees as low wage as possible … right now is not that time,” Cull said.
Finally, she emphasized that raising minimum wage might hurt more than help. The goal is to keep businesses in town, not lose them, Cull said.
Lepsch agreed. “This has been difficult for me to figure out whether we’re helping or hurting by doing this … I could certainly be supportive of tying the wage to the consumer price index … going forward, but I don’t think that now is the time to raise the minimum wage.”
Reagor also opposed the motion based on potential impacts on non-profit organizations as well as small businesses.
“We really don’t know the assessed cost of this along with all the other measures that are perhaps underway from the state … anybody who really wants to support this, if there is significant support for it, I would like to at least put the vote off till we see what the state legislative has done …,” he said. “I’m really concerned about what is the point of it; $15 an hour is not a number, it is not really a living wage in this town …,” Reagor said.
From local businesses’ perspective, those who spoke during public comment Feb. 6, were not in favor of it.
Carolyn Cowan, owner of Mesa Top Games and Toys and LA Bootery, said she had questions about the proposed wage increase.
What is the problem the County is trying to solve, she asked. During the Jan. 22 forum to discuss the wage increase, she said no answer was given to this question, which Cowan said she saw as a red flag.
Change brings consequences – both good and bad and one consequence is the amount of revenue a small business would need to earn to afford this new minimum wage. As an example, Cowan said a hypothetical business would need to bring in $1,600 in additional revenue a month based on the 25 percent wage increase.
She urged that more thought be given to this issue.
“Please council, define the problem before you propose the solution and consider the consequences,” Cowan said.
This is a complicated issue, Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce Director Ryn Herrmann said.
“As advocates for the business community we realize this is a topic that has largely divided our business community,” Herrmann said. “We don’t want to see small business owners negatively impacted by imposed changes that could adversely impact their operations, which might not end up achieving the stated outcomes of one: giving local workers more pay to live in Los Alamos County and two: helping attract more work force to Los Alamos County.”
Los Alamos Family Eyecare, PC owner Lisa Shin voiced her opposition to raising minimum wage, explaining that this will not solve the issue of people being unable to afford Los Alamos’ cost of living.
The response by businesses has been mixed. According to a Chamber survey conducted in June 2023, 54.43 percent of the more than 80 respondents were in favor, 39.97 percent were opposed and 8.86 percent were undecided regarding the proposed minimum wage increase.
Local businesses continued to weigh in on the proposed ordinance during the Jan. 22 forum, which was hosted by the Chamber and Los Alamos MainStreet, and the County’s public town hall held in June 2023.
According to Derkacs, the student rate was added to the draft ordinance based on feedback received at the County townhall. The incremental increases, rather than a single higher increase, were proposed based on input received at the business forum.