Countywide Minimum Wage Study

A longtime living wage advocate laid out the gap between the $16 minimum wage and the $25.08 living wage, noting 60% of renters are cost-burdened and most food service workers earn below living wage.

A canvasser for the minimum wage survey described meeting many residents who can't make ends meet and urged legislators to consider raising the wage.

Argued the county should adopt a significantly higher minimum wage at living-wage levels, saying benefits cliffs mostly happen when increases aren't big enough.

A local food service and retail worker described how hard it is to live on current wages and warned of risks to workers, businesses, and government from inaction.

Encouraged legislators to be creative and innovative on the minimum wage question, calling it a 'wicked problem' worth trying new solutions on.

Urged the county to adopt a significantly higher minimum wage at a living-wage level, arguing housing solutions take too long and the wage gap is a matter of political will.

Spoke for the Tompkins County Farm Bureau in strong opposition to a county minimum wage increase, citing farm cost pressures, loss of state tax credits, competitive disadvantage, and legal questions about local wage-setting authority.