Baltimore's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Up For Final Vote Next Week

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A $15 minimum wage could soon become a reality if the Baltimore City Council approves a measure next week supporting the increase.

Backers of the bill turned out for a rally outside city hall ahead of the meeting on Monday, calling for council members to vote for the higher wage they said they need to make ends meet. "We don't have enough money to live on to pay our bills," resident Carolyn Taylor-Chester told WJZ's Ava-Joye Burnett.

Following the council vote, the bill is headed to a final vote at the meeting on Aug. 15. If it clears that hurdle, it will head to the desk of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake for approval.

RELATED: Workers Continue Fighting For $15 Minimum Wage

For months, low income workers have been pushing for $15 an hour in Baltimore. Supporters of the increase include Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, who has spearheaded efforts to get it past a council vote.

"They work and work and work, thousands of people in the city, and can't make ends meet because the wages are too low," Clarke said.

Currently, minimum wage in Maryland is $8.75, a figure that will go up to $10.10 in 2018.

Under the bill the council's considering, the city's minimum wage would rise to $15 by 2022. The council voted down an amendment that would have capped the increase at $11.50

Business owners in Baltimore, which follows the state standards, have pushed back against the bill's passage, saying it could run them out of business in a matter of years.

"It will have a major impact on small businesses like ours, so we are fighting it," said Mouhcine Benkharafa, owner of Twist restaurant.

"We need to lay off some employees, we need to decrease salaries on some employees in order to stay competitive in the marketplace," Gail Furmna of Max's Taphouse said.

Still, Clarke and other supporters have said under the proposal up for a vote, small businesses with fewer than 25 workers would be eligible for exemptions to the minimum wage.

If the council approved a $15 minimum wage, it would be just one of a few U.S. cities to do so.

"We have a great divide in this city and a lot of it is economic," said Clarke. "People don't want a handout, they want to be self-sufficient and independent."