The motion, made by Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal and seconded by Councilman Rex Richardson, adds what Lowenthal described as a "pathway to $15/hr" by 2021 with verbiage that would effectively be advisory only -- although neither Lowenthal nor other Councilmembers publicly acknowledged this.

[Scroll down for further.]

Mayor Garcia used an unusual procedure on the agenda item, directing presentation of a previously-presented LAEDC report that contained no recommended minimum wage level. He then opened public testimony with no motion on the floor for a proposed minimum wage level.

On Jan. 6, the Council's "Economic Development Comm'n" [members chosen by Garcia] recommended a LB minimum wage rising in annual steps to $13/hr by 2019 with a one year delay each year for small businesses/small non-profits. Although the recommendation is a bit higher than $12.50/hr by 2013 proposed by LB's Council of Business Association and LB Area Chamber of Commerce, the $13/hr figure was nevertheless accepted by leadership of LB's organized business community and in his Jan. 13 State of the City message, Garcia publicly backed his Economic Development Commission's recommendations.

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Meanwhile, the politically active L.A. County Federation of Labor, the L.A. County Democratic Party and multiple minimum wage workers continued to urge $15/hr by 2020 [which the L.A. City Council, an L.A. County Board of Supervisors majority, and the Santa Monica City Council have adopted.] At the Jan. 19 Council meeting, public speakers favoring $15/hr in LB by 2020 -- many wearing supportive T-shirts and carrying supportive, printed signs -- greatly outnumbered speakers from LB's business community. Public testimony, some of it in Spanish with translation, lasted until 10:57 p.m.

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When public testimony concluded, Mayor Garcia immediately gave the floor to Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, saying she had made the original motion in August 2015 that began LB's process of discussing raising LB's minimum wage. Vice Mayor Lowenthal said setting a minimum wage in LB has been a praiseworthy, data driven process [and at one point contended that everything the LB City Council has done has been data driven.] Lowenthal stated that it is a fact that raising the minimum wage will help lift people out of poverty, and called the LB Council's action to raise the minimum wage the next step in Council policies to improve the quality of life for people in Long Beach.

Lowenthal then made a motion supporting the recommendation by the Council's Economic Development Comm'n for a minimum wage of $10.50/hr by Jan. 1 2017; $12/hr by Jan. 1 2018; reaching $13/hr by Jan. 1 2019 with a one year delay in each year for small businesses and non-profits (defined as having fewer than 25 employees.)

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Lowenthal's motion would also apply the minimum wage to City of LB Departments -- which city management estimated would total at least $800,000 in General Fund taxpayer costs by 2019 for a $13/hr minimum. Lowenthal's motion also included wage enforcement by the City, a private right of action for workers, mandatory posting and fines by City and recited launching a study in early 2019, to be conducted by LAEDC or [at Supernaw's suggestion possibly by another entity chosen after a bid process] to evaluate the minimum wage's impacts on sales tax and other impacts for presentation to the Council at a special hearing.

Vice Mayor Lowenthal, who will be exiting the Council under term limits in mid-July, then added a second part to her motion that she called a "pathway to $15/hr" but would effectively be advisory only: If after the 2019 study, a future Council sees no major negative impacts to jobs and the local economy, the City would continue raising its minimum wage to $14/hr by Jan. 1, 2020 and to $15/hr by Jan. 1, 2021 (with the minimum wage aligned to L.A. area's CPI by 2023.)

Unmentioned by Lowenthal or any Councilmembers or the Mayor: A current Council can't legally control [except by Charter Amendment approved by vote of the people] what a future Council will or won't do.

Several Councilmembers -- including Austin, Richardson and Gonzalez -- noted [accurately] that since the LB minimum wage will be an ordinance, a Council can change (i.e. raise) LB's minimum wage "on any Tuesday."

Councilman Al Austin said the Council's action is a "great first step," a "phased approach" to reaching $15/hr.; Richardson, Uranga and Gonzalez made similar statements in support of $15/hr.

Among tangential issues, Councilman Austin made a friendly amendment, accepted by Lowenthal, to include a provision similar to state law providing incentives to employers to hire interns (paying 85% of state minimum wage for up to 480 hrs for interns.) Councilwoman Mungo, who failed at getting Council approval for a provision affecting some youth workers, added without objection from Lowenthal that the City Attorney to provide the Council with an opinion on the issue of "total compensation."

As noted by Mayor Garcia during the Council proceedings, at least two statewide ballot initiatives will soon be circulating to gather signatures, seeking to raise the statewide minimum wage (recently raised by the state legislature to $10/hour) via a ballot measure timed for the November 2016 statewide (Presidential) election.

LB's minimum wage ordinance will now return to the Council in the coming weeks for at least two more Council votes [which could include tweaks or additional changes] before enactment.