Boulder County Commissioners Watch

This is the inaugural installment of a monthly feature recapping the activities of the Boulder County Commissioners.

Boulder County Commissioners background information:

The Boulder County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) consists of three members: Claire Levy, Marta Loachamin, and Ashley Stolzmann. Each commissioner is elected at-large to a four-year term. They represent the entire county, which has a population of 330,758 according to the U.S. 2020 census.

The BOCC is responsible for a myriad of matters, including approving expenditures, contracts, and grant agreements, establishing county policies related to land use, deciding on county employee compensation and facilities for county employees, and setting the budgets for all elected offices.

Due to "home rule" status, the commissioners' direct regulatory power is limited within incorporated cities and towns. Home rule refers to the authority of a local government (like a city or town) to govern its affairs with a degree of autonomy from the county and state.

Incorporated Boulder County houses 92.5% (305,967) of the county's residents. While all county residents vote for commissioners, the commissioners' primary local control is exercised over the 7.5% (approximately 24,791 people) residing in unincorporated areas, including Niwot.

Recap of March 6 meeting with local Niwot speakers discussing the negative impact of the county minimum wage Ordinance 2023-4 :

The March 6 regular meeting of the Boulder County Commissioners included a public comment session. During the public comment session, four individuals from Niwot spoke to address the minimum wage ordinance that the Boulder County Commissioners passed in the fall of 2023.

Ordinance 2023-4 became effective Jan. 1, 2024, with a minimum wage of $15.69 per hour, which is 15% above Colorado's 2023 minimum wage and $1.27 higher than surrounding incorporated towns and cities. The minimum wage for unincorporated Boulder County will increase yearly, reaching $25 per hour by 2030, and thereafter increasing in accordance with the Consumer Price Index.

This ordinance applies solely to the 24,791 residents, farmers, and businesses in unincorporated Boulder County (as well as employees of any business doing substantial work in the unincorporated county), since incorporated municipalities chose not to adopt it.

Alison Steele detailed the history of the Niwot Market, which was established by her father, Bert Steele, in 2002. Steele said, "I understand the intent to raise benefits to ensure compensation in unincorporated Boulder County, but the increase in minimum wage is excessive when only five miles away the minimum wage is significantly lower. Niwot faces a competitive disadvantage for small businesses, as we are forced to operate with one of the highest minimum wages in the state and nation." She elaborated, "Our grocery store already competes with large corporations who can absorb these substantial increases in minimum wage, but we do not. To say I am scared is an understatement." Steele asked the Commissioners, "How can we justify paying a 16-year-old entry-level clerk $25 per hour? What will we have to pay the skilled meat cutter?"

Jim Ditzel, the Niwot Business Association president and commercial real estate broker, discussed the direct impact on the potential sale of the 1914 House restaurant, which he listed in July 2023. He said, "We immediately had five prospective buyers lining up (to purchase the 1914 House) but the minimum wage ordinance killed all of the interest in it. We did get one offer, but it came in at 36% under the listing price...and the seller did not take the offer. The current minimum wage ordinance gives an unfair disadvantage to restaurants in that town (Niwot)."

Nick Little, who hires young people for his software engineering company in Niwot, presented findings from six peer-reviewed economic studies by organizations such as the Rand Corporation, Harvard Business School, the University of Washington, and the National Bureau of Economic Research, each of which described the negative impacts of minimum wage increases. He argued that the minimum wage ordinance disparity would harm the Niwot business community.

Niwot resident Jim Schaefer shared that when the minimum wage reaches $25 per hour in 2030, it will be higher than any uniformly applied minimum wage currently planned in New York City, San Francisco, or anywhere else in the United States. Schaefer noted that 93% of Boulder County's population rejected the ordinance, which remains in effect for only unincorporated areas. Schaefer said, "The farm-to-table movement will be transformed into a reality of no farms, no tables." He concluded that the commissioners need to vacate the minimum wage ordinance.

Next meeting and local news:

The Niwot Design Review Committee will meet on March 10, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. at Niwot Hall, 195 Second Avenue. The Left Hand Valley Courier will report on the meeting in our next issue.

The public meeting will review the Second Avenue Feed Store Commons Site Plan Review Request for constructing a 9,382-square-foot mixed-use building on a 0.31-acre parcel. Information can be found on the Niwot Design Review Committee webpage at www.boco.org/NDRC.

The Niwot Business Association is sending residents information and requesting them to sign and return a letter to the Boulder County Commissioners regarding the minimum wage ordinance.