Commission votes to raise minimum wage
Minimum-wage workers in parts of county get 15 cent an hour boost Jan. 1
Bernalillo County commissioners signed off Tuesday on a cost of living adjustment to the county’s minimum wage rate, which means that workers in the unincorporated parts of the county earning minimum wage will get a 15 cent per hour increase beginning Jan. 1.
The measure to boost the minimum wage from the current $8.70 to $8.85 was approved on a 3-2 vote without discussion. Republicans Wayne Johnson and Lonnie Talbert voted against it, while Commission Chairwoman Debbie O’Malley and Commissioners Maggie Hart Stebbins and Steven Michael Quezada, all Democrats, voted for it.
The minimum wage law adopted by the county in 2013 requires commissioners to consider cost of living adjustments every year, based on the inflation rate. Staff recommended the 15-cent increase based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. For a full-time worker, the raise will amount to an extra $312 a year.
During the public comment portion of Tuesday night’s meeting, Albuquerque resident Leland Thomas Taylor criticized county commissioners for continuing to place burdens on businesses through such things as tax increases and minimum wage hikes. He told the Journal that while Bernalillo County continues to make things harder for businesses, other counties, like Sandoval and Valencia are doing the opposite, and they’re starting to siphon jobs away from Bernalillo County.
“It’s just unbelievable,” he said. “I don’t get it. It’s really sad.”
The county’s minimum wage ordinance covers the unincorporated areas, or the land outside city limits. According to staff, there are about 1,400 active businesses covered by the ordinance.
Two other cost of living adjustments have been adopted since commissioners enacted the current Minimum Wage Ordinance in 2013. In January 2015, the county minimum wage went from $8.50 to $8.65 an hour. And in January 2017, it went from $8.65 to the current $8.70.
IT’S JUST UNBELIEVABLE. I DON’T GET IT. IT’S REALLY SAD.
LELAND THOMAS TAYLOR ALBUQUERQUE RESIDENT