At the October 28 City Council meeting, Mayor Peck made a motion amended by Councilmember Hidalgo-Fahring and seconded by Councilmember Crist to “pause taking any action on minimum wage as this Council.” The motion passed unanimously.
With this decision, the current Council which adjourns on December 2, 2025, when the new Council is sworn in has formally paused further consideration of a local minimum wage increase. Under state law, any future change to local minimum wage must take effect on January 1 of the following year, meaning there will be no local minimum wage increase in 2026 based on the current meeting schedule.
This outcome follows months of dialogue and collaboration across the community. The Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce, along with the Longmont Downtown Development Authority (LDDA), Longmont Economic Development Partnership (LEDP), and other partners, worked closely with City Council and staff to ensure that business voices were fully represented throughout the process.
The Chamber held dozens of meetings with business owners, City Council members, and staff to understand the potential impacts of a wage increase. Together with the City, we co-hosted focus groups and the Fishbowl community event, designed to bring transparency and open conversation with both employers and employees to the issue.
Local business owners voiced concerns about the timing and scale of a potential increase, emphasizing the challenges of inflation, workforce retention, and operational costs. Those concerns were heard, and we appreciate the Council’s willingness to take a measured, informed approach.
The Chamber and our members also recognize the importance of supporting employees and their long-term success. We share the community’s goal of prosperity for all, a goal that begins with creating and sustaining entry-level jobs that teach, train, and open pathways to advancement. We want Longmont to remain a place where people can start their careers, build skills, and steadily move upward while earning more over time. Achieving that requires balance: supporting businesses that create opportunities and ensuring employees have access to growth, education, and apprenticeship programs.
I want to thank the City of Longmont and Assistant City Manager Sandi Seader for its collaborative approach and our partners at LDDA, LEDP, and our many members both in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors who engaged constructively and respectfully in this process.
– Scott Cook, CEO Longmont Chamber