The South Lake Tahoe City Council has voted to not raise their minimum wage.
The decision itself came quickly after hearing significant comment from the community.
Tons of locals packed in the council chamber begging the city council to terminate the discussion of raising the minimum wage.
"Everybody's saying the same thing," said one commenter. "This is crazy. Let us run our businesses the way we see fit."
Most of the public commenters are local business owners and employees including Cold Water Brewery and Grill, The Hangar, Azul, and Basecamp Pizza. Even kids are sharing their thoughts.
"Recently I went out and filled an application and turned it in," said a 7th grade boy addressing the council. "Unfortunately, if minimum wage is increased, I may not be employed because it will be too costly."
The public argued that increasing wages will simply increase everything else in their economy which can lead to some businesses shutting down.
"A vote for an increase in minimum wage will be a vote for an increase in costs which will ultimately result in an increase in cost of living," added another commenter.
Others shared that raising wages could cause businesses to get rid of benefits, bonuses, and cut back their employees' hours.
Most businesses that depend on minimum wage say they typically hire students and other community members that are being introduced into the work force.
"These employees on average intend to work with us until they graduate and or move out of the area," said the Director of Operations for Azul and Basecamp Pizza. "In other words, we are in an industry that relies on transitional workforce."
As for those who are in favor of the raise, only one person took the stand during public comment, sharing research on how small businesses benefit from minimum wage increases.
"A survey from January of 2021 found that a majority of small businesses absorbed the rise in labor costs associated with the state and local minimum wage increases citing benefits including increases in productivity, reductions in employee turnover, and increases in consumer spending," he said.
Since the council has voted against raising the minimum, the City of South Lake Tahoe will continue going by the statewide minimum of $16 per hour.
