Portland voters will decide in November whether to raise the city's minimum wage.

The citizens initiative originally proposed increasing the city's minimum wage to $20 an hour for businesses with 50 or more workers, but the council passed an amended version on Monday with an increase of $19 an hour.

Nate Cloutier with Hospitality Maine says labor is roughly a third of a business' costs. Any increase in the minimum wage, he says, could lead to closings.

"It's not a luxury of absorbing more. Restaurants operate on 3-5% margins if they're lucky. Some net zero if they have to make it all during the summer season to have to lose it for the other eight months of the year," Cloutier said.

The minimum wage in Portland was raised by referendum in 2020 and cannot be amended for five years, excep

See Full Page