Supporters of a Minneapolis charter-amendment proposal to increase the city's minimum wage have filed a legal complaint against the city, arguing that the City Council acted improperly in blocking the issue from the ballot.

The complaint, filed Monday in Hennepin County District Court, asks that a judge order the council to reverse its decision and include the proposal on the ballot in November. Advocates from the groups 15 Now, Neighborhoods Organizing for Change and Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha had gathered the required number of voters' signatures to refer a charter-amendment question to voters. The proposal would raise the city's minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next several years, making it among the highest in the country.

City Attorney Susan Segal, however, said the topic did not fit within legal requirements for a charter amendment. Last week, following a contentious committee meeting, a majority of council members voted in agreement with Segal's opinion, saying that the issue should not go to voters. Several council members said they supported a higher wage but believed it would have to be implemented through an ordinance passed by the council. The council instead voted to begin working on a minimum-wage ordinance, and vote on the issue in 2017.

But in the complaint filed Monday, attorneys for the wage-hike supporters argue that the proposal does fall within the scope of the city's charter, which outlines the framework for municipal government. (Ordinances, passed directly by the council, are not part of the charter.) They said minimum wage relates to the basic well-being and functioning of the city.

"Confirming the conclusion that raising the minimum wage in order to combat income inequality is sufficiently important to be included in a city’s fundamental law is the growing trend among states to enshrine higher minimum wages in their state constitutions," the complaint says.

The complaint was filed by four people who signed the petition to put the issue on the ballot: Tyler Vasseur, Rosheeda Credit, Joshua Rea and Devon Jenkins. They ask for expedited court proceedings so a judge could rule before the city's deadline to submit a charter amendment proposal for the ballot. That deadline is Aug. 26, though a decision would likely need to come sooner. The council's last regular meeting before that date is Aug. 19.

The city is facing a similar action from supporters of a charter-amendment proposal that would require police to carry professional liability insurance. The council also voted to block that proposal from the ballot, and the Committee for Professional Policing filed a complaint last week.

Above: Organizers of a charter-amendment proposal to increase Minneapolis' minimum wage demonstrated at a City Council committee meeting on Aug. 3.