PORTLAND, Maine — Portland City Council members decided whether to add a minimum wage increase referendum question to the November ballot at Monday's city council meeting.

City councilors pushed the minimum wage increase proposal to the ballot with an amendment, raising the minimum wage to $19 an hour by 2028—instead of $20 an hour by 2029.

Portland voters will have the opportunity to vote on the measure in November.

Currently, the minimum wage in Portland is set at $15.50. The proposed minimum wage increase would raise the minimum wage in increments over three years.

The first increase would happen in 2026, and the minimum wage would be increased to $16.75 per hour. The following year, wages would be increased to $17.75 per hour, then $19 in 2028.

The increase would only apply to peo

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