A Linn County study commission is recommending increasing the county’s minimum wage to $8.25 an hour by January 1st.
The county board of supervisors convened the study commission. Linn Supervisors chairman Ben Rogers says he’ll take the commission’s recommendation to the supervisors’ meeting tomorrow.
The study commission supports Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett’s motion for increasing Linn County’s minimum wage. Corbett says it’s needed to help workers and to prod Iowa legislators.
“I don’t think it’s really good for our state to have a hodge-podge of minimum wages at different city levels and different counties throughout the state,” he said. “So it’s something that the legislature and the Governor need to address.”
Polk County’s supervisor board chairman Robert Brownell was also at the meeting. He says Polk County may be adopting a different wage minimum just to strengthen the statement to state legislators.
“So, having different numbers between Linn and Polk and Johnson County, in just the politics of it. Because they’ll want to take that up and standardize it,” he said. “That gives us an argument for something other than $8.25. I can only speak for myself.”
Brownell points out that without legislative action, it’s possible that three of the state’s four largest counties (Polk, Linn, and Johnson) could each have a different minimum wage.
Johnson County’s minimum wage increased to $9.15 an hour on May 1st, and is scheduled to increase to $10.10 on New Year’s Day.
