Latah County leaders disagree on increasing minimum wage

Idaho’s $7.25 minimum wage could swell to $12 an hour, and two out of three Latah County commissioners support the 60 percent raise.

The Boise-based group Idahoans for a Fair Wage is collecting signatures to get a minimum wage initiative on the November 2020 ballot.

It would raise the wage, which has remained stagnant the past 10 years, to $8.75 in 2021, then $1 more each of the following two years before topping out at $12 in 2024.

The wage would then be tied to the consumer price index and rise when the cost of living rises.

The measure would also increase the minimum wage for tipped employees and eliminate the minimum wage rate of $4.25 to employees younger than 20 during their first 90 days of employment.

Commissioner Dave McGraw, R-Troy, said the minimum wage should remain the same or increase slightly.

“I’m not a big supporter of raising the minimum wage,” he said. “I’m fine with the way it is.”

McGraw said minimum wage jobs are for high school students working a summer job, for example — not for those trying to pay large bills like a house payment.

He said businesses set their wages to remain competitive, not because a law tells them to pay a certain wage.

“I believe in a market-driven wage,” McGraw said.

He said if a restaurant cannot attract employees at $7.25 an hour, it needs to raise its wages.

Commissioner Kathie LaFortune, D-Viola, said she will sign the petition. She said housing, food and other bills are rising and $7.25 an hour is not enough to make ends meet in Latah County.

“Everything is going up, and yet the wages are not keeping pace with the cost of living increase, and so we need to do something, and we need to do something to not only keep up, but we have to catch back up,” she said.

LaFortune said the gap between the lowest wage earner and the CEO of large companies is too far and she likes the incremental increases proposed by Idahoans for a Fair Wage. She said wages must be increased slowly so businesses can budget appropriately.

Commissioner Tom Lamar, D-Moscow, said he expects to sign the petition but would have to read it in its entirety first.

“We have seen wage increases be relatively stagnant in Idaho and we need to see them change and this allows for it to happen,” he said.

Lamar echoed LaFortune’s statements regarding the incremental increases allowing businesses time to adjust. He said raising the wage to a livable one would allow people to afford housing, food, health care and other expenses.

Idahoans for a Fair Wage must collect signatures of 55,057 registered voters — or 6 percent of the qualified electors at the time of the November 2018 general election — to qualify it for the ballot.

The signatures are also required to be distributed across at least 18 legislative districts with at least 6 percent of registered voters from each district.

The group has until April 30, 2020, to circulate petitions for the measure and signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than May 1, 2020.

Idaho is one of 21 states that follows the federal minimum wage.

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.