Republicans to Repeal Living Wage Ordinance

The Journal-Inquirer reported earlier this week on the GOP Plan to repeal the Living Wage Ordinance during the regular Board of Directors meeting, Tuesday, August 12.

Among the highlights:

Republican members of the Board of Directors want to get rid of the town’s two-year-old living wage ordinance, saying Cigna Corp.’s request for waivers is the latest example of the ordinance’s ineffectiveness.

The living wage ordinance is “an inefficient policy” with so many “exemptions and contradictions” that it can’t be made to work in any way that benefits Manchester residents, Republican Deputy Mayor Matthew B. Peak said today.

Republicans say that with nonprofit organizations, businesses that employ 25 or fewer, and the town itself exempt from the ordinance, as well as one waiver already granted to a business looking for a tax abatement to expand and stay in town, waivers for Cigna would water the ordinance down so much it might as well be scrapped.

The Board of Directors will meet on Tuesday at the Lincoln Center.