Flagstaff City Council Agrees To Hear The Results Of A Minimum Wage Impact Study

The Flagstaff City Council decided to hear the results of a minimum wage impact study that is set to be released before the end of the year. Council heard about the nature of the study and heard arguments that the author of the study had ties to the Goldwater Institute, which is a conservative watchdog group. Council heard comments from members of the public saying the connection could show bias. Flagstaff business owner John Conley says he participated in the report and says it was done professionally by John Rounds of the Rounds Consulting Group. Council voted to hear the preliminary findings from the report at the January 7th council meeting, but also turn the report over to a second entity for further review. The minimum wage law in Flagstaff was set into motion after voters approved it in 2016. The law can only be changed by voter initiative and not the city council. An attempt to modify the law was made in the 2018 election, but failed at the polls. The minimum wage is set to go up to $13-dollars an hour on January 1st with the minimum wage topping out at $15.50 an hour by January 1st 2022.