Sebastian Kitchen

@writeonsk

Just hours after a Metro Council committee backed a plan to raise the local minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, Mayor Greg Fischer promised to veto it.

Instead, Fischer said he would support increasing the wage to between $8.50 and $8.75 an hour because it would lead to fewer lost jobs.

"Increasing the wage locally must be considered in the context of job losses since our surrounding counties will not be increasing their minimum wages," he said.

"I am most concerned about manufacturing businesses that have a high cost of labor as part of their total business expenses — and I do not want to see the wage increase lead to a loss of jobs for the very people we want to help."

Fischer, a Democrat, added he supports raising the minimum wage at the state and federal level.

The level of any minimum wage increase could be determined Thursday when the full Metro Council meets to consider the measure, which would affect all of Jefferson County, including the suburban cities.

On Monday, the Labor and Economic Development Committee voted along party lines, three Democrats to two Republicans, to increase the wage to $10.10 an hour, from the current $7.25. The increase would be enacted incrementally over three years.

Council President Jim King, D-10th District, believes council members' knowledge that Fischer prefers a lower increase may have some effect on them. He said he expects some amendments on Thursday to try to lower the increase.

Until Monday, Fischer would not say publicly whether he would veto the proposal or what level he supported, though he had said he believed an increase to $10.10 would lead to significant job losses.

There are nine sponsors of the increase. Democrats have a 17-9 majority on the council and do not expect any support from Republicans. Supporters do not appear to have the 18 votes needed to override a veto.

King, who along with other Democrats wrote an editorial in The Courier-Journal this year in support of increasing the minimum wage, said on Monday that he was not sure how he would vote.

The committee defeated a proposed amendment put forth by Councilman Ken Fleming, R-7th — again along party lines — to strip the ordinance and instead ask Fischer's office to pursue a study on the effects of a minimum wage increase.

Fleming, who delayed the previous committee vote with a request for an audit of the financial impact, said he expected the amendment to be defeated.

"Right now we're going through a shooting range blind," Fleming said about the potential loss of jobs, employers relocating or businesses declining to locate in Jefferson County. He believes the current proposal would hurt more people than it would help.

Fleming requested the financial impact a month earlier in a memo. He said he wants to be prudent and understand the costs and ramifications.

Referring to information from the Fischer administration, Fleming said the total cost for metro government to implement and manage the wage increase would be $674,000 a year, including two new employees. But he said there would be other costs.

Jefferson County would be on an island, Fleming said, with businesses in neighboring counties and in Kentucky and Indiana not under the same wage requirement.

Greater Louisville Inc. CEO Kent Oyler agreed with Fleming in a statement and expressed disappointment in the committee vote.

"Leading lawyers and high-ranking legislators have called the legality of this ordinance into question because it clearly conflicts with state law," he said. "This policy also places the Louisville metro area businesses at a competitive disadvantage with surrounding states and counties, whereas an increase at the federal level would not."

King said he is comfortable — from discussions with the county attorney's office — that the council has the authority to increase the wage. County Attorney Mike O'Connell indicated in an opinion that approving an increase locally would not conflict with state law.

But most observers expect a legal challenge if the council approves the wage hike. A lawyer for GLI and other business interests said he has a lawsuit prepared to file.

Meanwhile, several advocates for the increase applauded when the measure was approved Monday in the council chamber. They held up signs encouraging the committee not to delay and to "Raise the Wage." They argue people cannot survive on $7.25 an hour.

Councilwoman Attica Scott, the primary sponsor, has urged her colleagues "not to dumb down" the increase.

Proponents argue the increase helps low-wage workers and benefits the economy because those workers are more likely to spend the increased income. They also dispute opponents' arguments that the increase would cause job losses and economic damage.

Reporter Sebastian Kitchen can be reached at (502) 582-4475. Follow him on Twitter at @writeonsk.