Mayor Steve Fulop yesterday issued an executive order that nearly doubles the minimum wage of roughly 500 public workers to $15 an hour. The move came three months after he aligned himself with a movement to hike the state's minimum wage to that amount for workers in the private sector.

The action affects largely low-wage workers like 911 dispatchers and crossing guards and is part of the city's "commitment" to working families, Fulop said .

"Not only is this the right thing for Jersey City, but it's my hope that our actions today will help move Trenton towards providing all New Jerseyans a living wage," he said.

Council President Rolando Lavarro, a Fulop ally, applauded the move.

"Like earned sick days and wage theft before, this action is another example of Jersey City protecting our working families, recognizing the hard work and dignity of Jersey City workers," Lavarro said in a statement.

The cost for hiking the workers' wages is roughly $1 million annually, according to city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill, who noted that the plan is a part of this year's proposed city budget, which comes with no tax hike. The plan will affect full- and part-time workers but not summer interns under 18 years old, who will continue to earn $9 an hour.

Matt Rooney, a lawyer and conservative blogger at SaveJersey.com, told The Jersey Journal that Jersey City wouldn't be able to afford to offer a higher minimum wage if it weren't for state taxpayers. Rooney expressed anger that Jersey City receives a total of $490 million in state aid -- that includes the aid given to its public school district -- and yet continues to approve long-term tax breaks for developers.

"It has to be one of America's wealthiest subsidized cities in 2016 relative to its size and the amount of aid," Rooney said, adding that the city needs to "tighten its belt and pull its own weight."

In November, Fulop and members of the City Council joined labor activists at City Hall to show support for hiking the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour. The rally coincided with protests in dozens of U.S. cities by thousands of fast-food worker.

The state's minimum is $8.38. New Jersey voters in 2013 approved a constitutional amendment that hiked the state's minimum wage and tied future increases to the inflation rate.

There is no scheduled increase for this year.