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Council Committee Tables Discussion on Raising Minimum Wage

LFUCG

A committee of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council has tabled further discussion on raising the city’s minimum wage. 

Tuesday’s meeting of the Budget, Finance, and Economic Development committee was dominated by discussion of raising the city’s minimum wage.  The proposal, introduced by councilmember Jennifer Mossotti, would raise the amount to $10.10 over three years.  Some members of the committee, including 5th district representative Bill Farmer, expressed concern at taking action while a lawsuit over a similar measure in Louisville had yet to be resolved. 

“I think there’s a lot of time between the legislation being passed there and it being effective there and I think that time is going to be frought with a lot of legal issues and a lot of money being spent on the issue that I personally believe we can watch,” he said.

Farmer introduced a motion to table discussion of the issue until the suit was settled, and it was approved by the committee 6 to 3.  Legal experts estimate that the time to wait could range from several months to several years.   Mossotti condemned the decision, saying that preventing full council consideration does  “a monumental disservice" to the community.

Chase Cavanaugh first got on the air as a volunteer reader for Central Kentucky Radio Eye, a local news service for the visually impaired. He began reporting for WUKY in February 2012, after receiving his Master’s degree from the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.