The City of Boulder is set to see a higher minimum wage in 2025 after city council approved an ordinance setting the hourly pay at $15.57 for 2025. That’s 9.5% above the planned state minimum wage of $14.81 for 2025, but still the lowest of five local minimums in the state.
Earlier this year, Boulder County implemented a $15.69 wage (which will be $16.57 in 2025), and Denver’s 2025 wage is set at $18.81. The city began exploring an increased wage alongside Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville and Erie earlier this year amid rising costs of living, but the City of Boulder is the only municipality moving forward with the increase for the time being. Opponents of raising the wage have said it would put too big of a burden on small businesses and would prompt layoffs.
Council member Lauren Folkerts initially proposed a $16.58 per hour minimum wage, which would have put Boulder at 15% over the state minimum, with the goal of matching Denver’s wage by 2027. That proposal was voted down 5-4. Council unanimously approved the $15.57 wage.
Read more: bit.ly/MinimumWageBW.
In other news…
- CU Boulder has appointed commander John Monahan to the role of interim police chief, after former chief Doreen Jokerst resigned in August after accepting the chief of police position in Overland Park, Kansas. Monahan has been with the department since August 2023 and previously spent 27 years with the police department in Mundelein, Illinois. University spokesperson Christine Mahoney said the search for the permanent chief will begin soon with a “thorough, national search to identify the best candidates to lead CUPD and serve the unique needs of the diverse campus community.”
- Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) announced it will give substitute teachers $1,000 bonuses for every 30 days worked after BVSD Superintendent Rob Anderson assured substitute teachers last month the district would raise their pay after cutting it by $25 per day in July, drawing outrage and concern from subs in the district. The bonus equates to an extra $33 per day, but is only paid at 30-day increments, according to the letter sent to substitutes.
Read more: Boulder filed complaint against local NAACP, city reveals