Citizens Clash Over Flagstaff Minimum Wage Increase
A voter-approved measure that raises the minimum wage to $15 an hour in Flagstaff is
deeply dividing the community, placing the city at the center of a national debate over
income inequality.
Feb. 16, 2017, at 5:08 p.m. Citizens Clash Over Flagstaff Minimum Wage Increase
By CLARICE SILBER, Associated Press https://www.usnews.com/news/arizona/articles/2017-02-16/citizens-clash-over-flagstaff-minimumwage-increase
PHOENIX (AP) — A voter-approved measure that raises the minimum wage to $15 an hour in
Flagstaff is deeply dividing the community, placing the city at the center of a national debate
over income inequality.
People on both sides of the debate packed a city council meeting Tuesday, where discontent was
voiced adamantly from those supporting and opposing the measure. More than 70 people
addressed the council, and an overflow room had to be set up to accommodate the large crowd.
The council was deciding whether to hold a special election in May on an initiative to repeal the
minimum wage increase, Proposition 414. The council voted to wait for the next general election
in November 2018.
Flagstaff resident Elisha Dorfsmith was among those who attended the meeting, which he
described as "emotional and intense." He said his biggest concern about the law is its lack of
exemptions that he thinks should apply to entry-level and part-time employees. Dorfsmith said
he believes entry-level jobs will eventually dissipate as a result of the law.
"It's not even a left or right divide, it's a community divide," Dorfsmith said. "People are just at
each other's throats."
The law passed by voters in November raises the minimum wage to $12 an hour this year and to
$15 an hour by 2021.
It goes above and beyond Proposition 206, a statewide ballot measure also approved by voters in
November that raises the minimum wage to $10 this year and $12 by 2020.
The group Elevate Flagstaff petitioned to amend a local law and keep the city's minimum wage
at the state level.
Flagstaff city councilmember Jim McCarthy said the council will ask the legal staff to try to
make an amendment to delay the implementation of the Flagstaff increase to $12 an hour.
"There is a bit of risk in that but I think it's the right course of action," McCarthy said. "Even
among the people that support the measure say it's too soon."
Supporters of the minimum wage increase cite their hopes of giving lower-paid worker more
opportunity in one of Arizona's most expensive real estate areas.
James Holeman, who employs seven workers at his cigar and beer store in Flagstaff,
acknowledges that a quick increase to $12 an hour will be intense, but says continuing strong
support for small local businesses should keep everyone afloat.
"Giving some of the working poor a little better chance ... just being fair, I think people have
been underpaid for a very long time, Holeman said.
Armando Bernasconi, the CEO of Quality Connections, said his nonprofit that assists people
with disabilities to find housing and employment is already experiencing negative effects from
Proposition 206 within the business and outside it. He expects it will become harder for his
organization to find jobs for people if the scheduled increase to $12 an hour takes place this July.
"It's greatly impacting the people we serve which are the most vulnerable in our community,"
Bernasconi said. "It's really disheartening."
With Congress unable to agree on an increase in the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour,
numerous states and cities have taken action on their own. In this election, Arizona, Colorado
and Maine voters approved measures phasing in $12 minimum hourly wages by 2020. In
Washington state, where the minimum wage is $9.47 an hour, voters approved a measure raising
that to $13.50 an hour by 2020.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
What is Prop 414 Minimum Wage?
http://www.flagstaff.az.gov/index.aspx?nid=3520
PROPOSITION NO. 414 - Minimum Wage Act – Establishing a minimum wage for the City of Flagstaff
and providing for enforcement and remedies for violations of the City minimum wage, amending
Flagstaff City Code by adding Title 15, Labor, Chapter 1, Minimum Wage. Employers shall pay
employees no less than the minimum wage, which shall be not less than:
1. $10 an hour or $2 above the state minimum wage as provided for under Section 23-363,
Arizona Revised Statutes, whichever is greater, on and after July 1, 2017;
2. $11 an hour or $2 above the state minimum wage as provided for under Section 23-363,
Arizona Revised Statutes, whichever is greater, on and after January 1, 2018;
3. $12 an hour or $2 above the state minimum wage as provided for under Section 23-363,
Arizona Revised Statutes, whichever is greater, on and after January 1, 2019;
4. $13 an hour or $2 above the state minimum wage as provided for under Section 23-363,
Arizona Revised Statutes, whichever is greater, on and after January 1, 2020;
5. $15 an hour or $2 above the state minimum wage as provided for under Section 23-363,
Arizona Revised Statutes, whichever is greater, on and after January 1, 2021.
Read November 8, 2016 Information Pamphlet
Summary & Status
•
Proposition 414 was a citizen's initiative
•
On November 8, 2016 City of Flagstaff voters approved and passed initiative 414 –
Initiative for a Living Wage - voting YES 14,913 (53.99%) and NO of 12,710 (46.01%)
•
A citizen petition to amend the initiative has been received. In accordance with the law
the City Clerk has 20 business days to check the petitions for completeness followed by a
verification of signatures by the County Recorder.
•
If sufficient signatures are verified by the County Recorder, it will be placed on a future
City Council agenda for the council to consider whether or not it would like to hold a
special election on May 16, 2017. If the Council chooses to not call a special meeting it
will be placed on the ballot in November 2018.
•
The City Council Meeting on January 17, 2017 will have a discussion item on the agenda
regarding Minimum Wage changes.
•
The City Council Budget Retreat will have an agenda item at 11:55 regarding the Prop
414 impacts to the City of Flagstaff organization.
•
The City Council has limited ability under the law to affect these initiatives.
•
The Minimum Wage Special Election will be decided by Council following the County
Recorder's Office petition signature validation process scheduled to be completed by
February 9, 2017. The City Council meeting date with an agenda item on the minimum
wage has not yet been confirmed.
•
The Flagstaff City Council will meet on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 6pm for a Special
Meeting to consider potential options regarding the minimum wage. The public is invited
to attend the meeting in the City Hall Council Chambers located at 211 W. Aspen Ave.
Agendas and live streaming of the meeting is available on the City Website.
What Action Can The City of Flagstaff City Council Do Legally?
Question: Can the City Council repeal or overturn an adopted voter initiative?
Answer: No
Question: Can the City Council amend an adopted voter initiative?
Answer: No, unless by supermajority and it furthers the initiative’s purposes
Question: Can voters repeal or remove an adopted voter initiative?
Answer: Yes, through the same voter initiative process
Question: When does an adopted voter initiative become effective?
Answer: Upon approval of the voters and proclamation by the Mayor
Applicable Points under the Arizona Constitution
Article 4, Section 1(1) and (8) of the Arizona Constitution (the Constitution) reserves power to voters to
pass new laws. Under the Constitution, Article 4, Section 1(14) a voter initiative approved by a majority
of the voters cannot be repealed or overturned by the City Council.
Article 4, Section 1(6)(C) and 1(14) of the Arizona Constitution requires any amendment to further the
purposes of the initiative and be approved by a supermajority of the City Council.
Article 4, Section 1 of the Arizona Constitution allows voters to propose and approve any initiative that
repeals or removes law created by a previous initiative.
Article 4, Section 1(5) and (13) and Arizona Revised Statutes, Section 19-126 indicate that a voter
initiative becomes effected as stated in the initiative, upon approval of the voters and proclamation of
the Mayor.
Updated: Flagstaff City Council passes amendment to minimum wage
Posted: Wednesday, March 22, 2017 12:09 am Scott Sandon http://www.jackcentral.org/news/updated-flagstaff-city-council-passes-amendmentto-minimum-wage/article_869d66fa-0ece-11e7-b23a-eb96ce0b4141.html
Flagstaff City Councilmember Charlie Odegaard was the singular vote against the city’s
minimum wage amendment, as it passed 6-1 March 21.
Odegaard entered the chamber four minutes late for the city council meeting.
Flagstaff voters passed Proposition 414 by 54 percent in November 2016, which planned to raise
the minimum wage in the city to $15 an hour by 2021. Proposition 414 would have changed the
minimum wage to $12 an hour July 1.
The November election also saw Arizona’s state minimum wage increase to $10 per hour with
the passing of Proposition 206. Feb. 14, Flagstaff City Council voted to draft an amendment to
Proposition 414 that would increase the minimum wage by smaller amounts, starting with a raise
to $10.50 an hour July 1. The amendment would also increase the city’s final minimum wage to
$15.50 an hour by 2022 instead of $15 by 2021.
In the Flagstaff City Council meeting Mar. 7, it appeared as though Odegaard, who was
undecided on the amendment, would cast the deciding vote during the March 21 meeting.
One of the concerns Odegaard voiced in previous meetings regarding the amendment was the
possibility that it may violate Arizona’s Voter Protection Act. The Arizona Voter Protection Act
is an amendment to the Arizona Constitution that requires “three-fourths [of a legislative body]
to amend measure, to supersede measure, or to transfer funds designated by the measure, and
only if each furthers the purpose of the measure.”
First, members of the public were invited to speak on the amendment. Members of the city’s
disabled community spoke several times, urging the council to approve the amendment.
“My life has not always been easy. And now that I’m doing well, moving and having to make
these changes because of [Proposition] 414 would not be good for me,” Nathan Martinez, a
member of the city’s disabled community and a Sam’s Club employee, said.
Non-profits and small businesses have voiced concern over Proposition 414. Non-profits like
CPES, that provide services for the developmentally disabled, may not be able to stay open in
Flagstaff if they were required to raise their wages. This would force residents like Martinez to
move to cities where these services can be provided.
Paul Deesy, from the group Bridging Flagstaff, also spoke. Deesy revealed that Bridging
Flagstaff had filed to become a Political Action Committee (PAC) in the previous week.
“[Bridging Flagstaff] are intent on crafting an alternative initiative that resolves these issues and
embodies the voice of the people,” Deesy said.
A voter initiative from Bridging Flagstaff would stand as an alternative to the initiative proposed
by Elevate Flagstaff, both of which aim to amend the wage hike proposed by Proposition 414.
The discussion then turned to the council. Odegaard was the first councilmember of the night to
discuss the amendment. As he spoke, his hands were visibly shaking.
“I’ll start off since all eyes are kind of looking at me anyways,” said Odegaard.
Odegaard announced that he would be voting against the amendment, which led many to believe
the amendment’s failure was assured, since he was the swing vote in the previous meeting.
Councilmember Eva Putzova motioned to postpone the vote until May 23, which would allow
the council more time to consider the legality of the amendment. The motion was seconded by
councilmember Jim McCarthy. Putzova withdrew the motion and proposed instead to postpone
the vote until May 16. The motion was defeated in a 5-2 vote after the condemnation of the
public and other councilmembers.
Putzova has previously been asked to recuse herself on Proposition 414 due to her husband’s
involvement in writing the proposition. One of her comments at the March 21 meeting offended
several members of the audience.
“The voices we are not hearing from are the workers. And that’s because the workers are either
working or afraid,” Putzova said.
Councilmembers eventually voted on the amendment at approximately 7:30 p.m., with
councilmember Scott Overton changing his vote from a confident ‘no’ to a reluctant ‘yes.’
Odegaard was the only councilmember to vote against the amendment despite him being the
swing vote in the previous meeting. The 6-1 vote fulfilled the legislative criteria of the threefourths vote known as a supermajority, thus passing the amendment.
“The advice we received from our attorney [inspired his decision to vote no],” said Odegaard.
Overton switched from a vote against the amendment to one in favor of it, which surprised many
and was enough to pass the amendment regardless of Odegaard’s vote against. The results of the
vote pleased many Flagstaff residents who were present at the meeting stood and applauded
when the results of the six to one decision were announced.
Fear and hope: Flagstaff residents consider future with new $15 per hour minimum wage
Downtown Flagstaff near San Francisco Street and Aspen Avenue. Business owners, workers and other residents are divided over a minimum
wage hike to $12 an hour in July. (Photo by Jessica Clark/ Cronkite News).
By Saundra Wilson | Cronkite News Friday, March 3, 2017
FLAGSTAFF – The scent of freshly popped kettle corn, laced with syrup and buttery caramel,
wafts through Flagstaff Nut House in Flagstaff’s downtown.
The co-owner said business at the shop is not so sweet. Nizar Olabi let minimum-wage workers
go, cut the store hours to Thursday through Sunday and will raise prices on popcorn, ice cream
and other treats.
He’s worried about Flagstaff’s new minimum-wage law, which will raise the city’s minimum
wage to $12 in July and increases it every year until it reaches $15 an hour by January 2021.
“I think, overall, it hurts the economy,” said Olabi, a doctor who opened the store as a side
business. “It makes it harder for us to stay in business.”
The wage is deliberately higher than the new, controversial state minimum, which brought the
wages up to $10 an hour in January. In Flagstaff, known for its progressive politics, state
university and tourism, the new wage has ignited emotional and economic conflicts.
More than 70 people spent their Valentine’s Day evening sharing diverging thoughts about the
proposition at a city council meeting where the council ultimately rejected a proposal to hold a
special election in May. The special election would have allowed Flagstaff voters to vote on a
measure to reverse or alter many of the provisions in Proposition 414.
Some businesses that opposed the higher wage increase have been boycotted, according to a
leader of the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. But other business leaders and residents
support the wage increase as a way to support, attract and keep workers, some saying a raise is
long overdue.
Four months after voters approved Prop 414 in the November general election, business owners,
employees, public officials and other residents continue to wrestle with the vote. The city council
is expected to take up the issue again Tuesday, when council members will consider a measure
that would slow the phase-in of the wage increase but still hit $15 an hour by 2021.
“The community is divided,” said Armando Bernasconi, chief executive of a local nonprofit that
helps people with disabilities find employment in the city. “It’s a really sad thing to see.”
Nizar Olabi, co-owner of Flagstaff Nut House, said the minimum wage increase will force his business to increase prices on popcorn and other
sweet treats. (Photo by Jessica Clark/ Cronkite News).
New year, new wages
The Flagstaff Soap Company, a locally owned shop that sells natural, handcrafted soap and skincare products, is down the street and an opinion away from Olabi.
The Soap Company owner supports the increased minimum wage and plans to hire new workers
soon, shop manager Bobbi Wilson said.
Wilson expects a slight increase in prices for goods and services in Flagstaff but believes
customers and businesses can accommodate the change.
“I’m happy to pay an extra 25 cents for a cup of coffee in order for the people working there and
making that coffee to make a fair and livable wage,” Wilson said.
Gerardo Alvarado, who spoke through a Spanish-language translator before the city council, said
all Flagstaff residents share responsibility to provide workers a living wage.
Alvarado said he is a construction worker and gets paid higher than the minimum wage but
knows people who have to work two or three jobs to get by.
“If my wage needs to go down so that actually my community earns more money, I would do it
in a second,” Alvarado said.
“They say that Flagstaff is a really good place to live and raise your children but the question is,
who is that for?”
Opponents: Too far, too fast
Prop 414 passed 54 percent to 46 percent, according to election records.
Voters approved the local proposition alongside state Proposition 206, another controversial
measure that boosted the minimum wage to $10 an hour in Arizona in January. The state
minimum wage would gradually increase every year to $12 an hour by 2020 and in later years be
adjusted for inflation.
Flagstaff’s Prop 414 requires the city minimum wage always be $2 above the state standard. It
also increases wages for workers who receive a substantial portion of their wages through tips.
The city’s minimum wage will jump nearly 50 percent over six months, from $8.05 per hour last
year to $12 an hour in July.
Those who are opposed to the law said the increase is too fast to be sustained and fear it will
drive small businesses beyond their limits.
“The money has to come from somewhere,” said Stuart McDaniel, vice president of
governmental affairs for the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber joined forces with Elevate Flagstaff, a group of local businesses that gathered more
than 8,000 signatures on a petition to hold a special election in May. They called their alternative
to Prop 414 the Sustainable Wages Act, requiring Flagstaff adopt the state minimum wage.
At the packed city meeting on Valentine’s Day, the Flagstaff city council turned down the
request for a special election by a 5-2 vote, siding with people who said it would reverse the will
of the voters who approved Prop 414. But the council plans to place a provision on the ballot in
the November 2018 general election.
“The democratic process took place,” said Olabi, who signed Elevate Flagstaff’s petition. “It was
completely ignored.”
Some say the proposition hurts a sector that is known for giving back: Flagstaff non-profit
organizations.
“Prop 414 basically ignores the disabled population,” said Bernasconi, the CEO of Quality
Connections, a local nonprofit that provides job training and assistance for people with
disabilities.
OPPOSES PROP 414
Stuart McDaniel, Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce
McDaniel, the chamber’s vice president for governmental affairs, said the city’s minimum-wage
increase could lead to higher prices, business closures and the “snowball effect” of increased
costs to run a business. “Good intentions don’t override the laws of economics,” he said.
(Photo by Jessica Clark/ Cronkite News)
Bernasconi said 15 clients have already lost their jobs or had their work hours cut.
“These are jobs that our guys have been searching for years to find,” Bernasconi said. “They
found them and now they’re losing them again.
McDaniel shared Bernasconi’s concern.
“The very people that it’s designed to help are actually the ones being hurt the most,” McDaniel
said.
McDaniel anticipates increased prices, business closures, and what he calls a “snowball effect”
of increased costs.
“Good intentions don’t override the laws of economics,” he said.
Supporters: wages that work
Advocates for the proposition said workers have struggled with a higher cost of living than they
can afford and deserve more money in their pockets.
“I think we have a more stable economy when we have a greater percentage of our population
who can afford just basic needs,” Wilson said.
She said she’s seen her friends wrestle with affordability in Flagstaff.
Two Flagstaff students are especially excited to see the gains.
“It definitely helps because I don’t have to work as much and I can focus on school,” said Isabel
Lara, a server at Red Curry Vegan Kitchen and student at Coconino Community College.
Lara said the jump in January came as a surprise, but has helped her to continue to pay her rent,
despite the decrease in tips during the slower winter months.
She plans to save the extra money for school and a “nice little cushion” for herself “in case
something happens.”
Alex Bentley, a computer science student at Northern Arizona University who works at the Pita
Pit in downtown Flagstaff, said he scrambles to pay rent. He recently got a second job.
“It’s helping me out a lot as a young person, so people who have kids and stuff working
minimum wage jobs, it’s probably huge for them,” Bentley said.
Jim Taylor, a freelance writer and member of the Flagstaff Living Wage Coalition, advocated for
Prop 414, hanging fliers on doors and calling and texting potential voters.
Taylor said the coalition knew voters would support a higher minimum wage.
“It’s really a moral argument,” Taylor said. “It’s just the right thing to do.”
Wage increases working out for some Flagstaff businesses
CORINA VANEK AND EMERY COWAN Sun Staff Reporter Mar 7, 2017 http://azdailysun.com/news/local/wage-increases-working-out-forsome-flagstaff-businesses/article_00f5e450-7338-54f3-9e56-504d03bb70ef.html
As Flagstaff residents look toward city council action on an amendment to the city’s minimum
wage law that would stave off the $12 wage on July 1, local business owners are trying out
various tactics to cope with increasing labor costs. The state minimum wage hit $10 an hour on
Jan. 1.
Mike Funk, the owner of Firecreek Coffee Company, sees the wage increase as a positive
influence, and has even chosen to bump his employees' pay above the new $10-per-hour that is
the state minimum.
“We felt we needed to set an example,” Funk said. “We are increasing our prices but we are
paying our employees a fair wage.”
At the Flagstaff location, Funk employs about 20 people who work an average of 35 hours per
week. With tips, most of his workers already take home more than $12 an hour, Funk said.
“The minimum wage increase does affect us, but we have always been trying to pay workers
more,” he said.
Funk recognizes that Firecreek does not compete on prices, and said customers in the café are
already willing to pay more money for a product that they think is worth the higher cost.
“We’ve always tried to do something special,” Funk said. “That’s why we have smaller portions
and are more expensive.”
Funk also gave employees of more than a year “small, symbolic raises,” even though they were
already earning more than $10 an hour, which is the state's new minimum wage.
So far, the feedback on his price increases has been overwhelmingly positive, Funk said.
“It’s nice to see people are putting their money where their vote is," he said.
As for effects to his bottom line, Funk said he tries to operate his business on a 10 percent profit
margin, though right now that number is closer to 5 or 6 percent. He said he plans to
continuously raise prices as the minimum wage increases, though future jumps will likely be
smaller.
“I get concerned that all the chains will be OK,” he said. “They aren’t paying someone to make
ketchup like one of my favorite local restaurants is.”
Funk said the increase in the tipped minimum wage is also worrisome to him because many
tipped workers are already taking home much more than the minimum wage.
“Why make the restaurateur pay triple if they are already paying a sustainable wage plus tips?”
Funk asked. “A lot of restauranteurs aren’t going to have the extra money.”
He acknowledged that the current increase schedule has been a hard swallow for many
businesses.
“The sad thing is, probably a lot will go out of business,” he said.
• BIFF’S BAGELS
Biff’s Bagels has similarly seen a positive response to the 15 percent price increase it
implemented in January, manager Felicia Cruze said.
“We haven’t lost business over it at all,” she said.
The 15 percent will cover what it costs to move employees up to $12 an hour to comply with
both the state and city minimum wage increases this year, Cruze said.
Only three of the bagel shop’s 11 employees were making less than $12 an hour, so the change
won’t have a huge effect on the business’s labor costs, Cruze said. And with the raise, the owners
made it clear they are expecting more of employees, she said.
“We had to explain with us going to $12 that you needed to be aware that you need to be a $12
employee,” she said.
STREETSIDE SAIGON
Like the owners of Biff’s Bagels, Hoa Truong, the owner of Street Side Saigon, was a supporter
of Prop. 414 during the election. Truong said he believes a person that works 40 hours a week
should be able to afford the necessities, like rent or a mortgage, food, utilities and basic
healthcare.
Most employees at Street Side Saigon were already making about $10 an hour, Truong said, but
in January when the state minimum was increased, he bumped up their wages as well to combat
wage compression.
“It’s not fair for a person who has been here for two years to be making the same as someone
who just started,” he said.
While Truong has not had to raise his prices yet, he said he did stop running some specials in the
restaurant, and does plan to reprint the menu with new prices in July when the city’s minimum
wage is scheduled to reach $12 an hour.
“I hope my customers will understand,” he said.
Like Funk, he said he plans to post a notice about raising prices, but said he is “not writing the
note begrudgingly” because he does support paying employees more.
Truong said his personal worldview, separate from his business, made him favor the higher
wages because he would like to see an increase in the quality of life in the city.
Truong also said he can see other local businesses feeling pressure under the increase, and said
many acquaintances of his have expressed worry.
“I understand the degree of allergy some businesses have to these types of things,” he said.
But Truong came back to his belief that the argument to keep prices and the minimum wage low
puts servers in an undervalued position.
NOT SO EASY
Another local restaurant owner who did not want to be named raised his prices 16 percent to
cover the approximately 10 percent increase in monthly payroll he has seen since the state
minimum wage increase, as well as expected cost increases under the city’s July $12 minimum
wage. Like Truong, the restaurant owner bumped up the hourly pay of all of his employees, even
the ones that were making more than $10 an hour. Tipped servers were bumped from $5.05 an
hour to $7.05 an hour, according to state law.
He hasn’t laid anyone off yet but he has cut his employees’ hours by 5 percent to 7 percent.
Additionally, his local distributor’s food prices have gone up 4 percent to 5 percent, he said. The
big question mark is in how the restaurant's customers will respond to $1 and $2 increases in
menu item prices.
“As long as I don't lose customer counts, everything will work itself out,” the restaurant owner
said.
WARNER’S NURSERY
For Misti Warner, the owner of Warner's Nursery and Landscaping, the state and impending
local minimum wage increases haven’t been as easy to absorb. The business will be reducing the
number of seasonal employees it hires by at least one third and up to one half, depending on
what happens with the Flagstaff minimum wage increase, Warner said. Those employees have
tended to be high school and college students and most would have started at wages well below
$12 an hour, she said.
Warner is also cross-training many seasonal employees so they can do more in the hours they
work — man a cash register as well as tend to plant beds, for example.
In general, employees will have less of an opportunity to get a pay raise, though, because the
starting bar has been moved up to the point that she can’t afford the additional payroll costs,
Warner said.
She said she's also worried that without enough seasonal employees, her more knowledgeable
sales staff will get stuck doing manual labor and won’t have as much time to interact with
customers, which will affect overall service levels. Along the same lines, she has had to reduce
the inventory of plants that she will keep on hand because she won’t have as much labor needed
to move and care for them, Warner said.
On the landscaping side of the business, Warner’s has already had to let go of one of its crews,
though the larger economic climate also played a role in that decision, Warner said. The business
is also considering moving the landscaping division outside city limits so they can avoid the city
minimum wage and be more competitive with non-Flagstaff companies when bidding for jobs,
she said.
In other areas of the business, Warner’s cut its advertising budget and had to scrap what are
usually annual donations to hospice organizations, the American Cancer Society and the
Flagstaff Arboretum, she said.
“We’re just going to keep going, we’ve been here for many, many years and survived because of
this community,” Warner said. “We’re just going to have to be really smart.”
But Warner says a jump to $12 in July would be hard.
"$12 could make us feel we’re not supported by the community," Warner said.
"We’re feeling like all of the burden is being put on businesses," she said. "It's expensive to live
in Flagstaff but it's also expensive to run a business in Flagstaff and I don’ think that is being put
out there."
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