By Corina Vanek | Arizona Daily Sun
The Flagstaff City Council voted 5-2 against holding a special election in May on a citizen initiative to repeal the city’s $15 minimum wage law that was approved in November.
Elevate Flagstaff, backed by local businesses and the Chamber of Commerce, gathered enough signatures to put a repeal initiative on the ballot. However, the council had the option Tuesday night to call a special election at a cost of $156,000 for May 16, 2017 or wait until the next general election, in November 2018.
Councilman Jim McCarthy said he would like to see the council discuss an amendment to the current law specifically removing the $2 escalator requirement until 2021, but said he did not support an off-year election, which historically have much lower turnout than general elections.
