Tacoma business owners, workers, and residents can now weigh in on whether the city should raise its minimum wage to $20 an hour, a 17% jump above the current $17.13 state floor.

The city released an online survey, with SouthSoundBiz.com reporting its availability on Thursday, July 17, giving community members a direct channel to submit written feedback before Deputy Mayor Joe Bushnell drafts a formal ordinance.

Bushnell plans to bring that ordinance to the City Council for a vote this fall, according to the report.

"We need a minimum wage that works for the city of Tacoma," Bushnell said in a statement tied to the survey's release. "That includes hearing from as many people as possible on this issue."

The survey follows a packed Economic Development Committee meeting on Monday, July 14, where about 20 people testified during public comment. Only one speaker opposed an immediate increase. Lori Forte Harnick, president and CEO of Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region, told the committee that a sudden jump to $20 would cost her organization roughly $1.8 million per year and force it to run a budget deficit, threatening its job-training programs.

Council member Latasha Palmer signaled the council's appetite to act. "Let's just get it done," she said at the July 14 meeting, expressing a preference for the council to pass the increase directly rather than place it on the November ballot.

Three paths forward

Bushnell presented the committee with three active options, according to the News Tribune: an immediate across-the-board $20 wage; gradual annual increases reaching $20; or setting Tacoma's rate at a fixed amount above the state minimum.

A fourth option — doing nothing — would mean the state rate reaches $20 on its own around 2029 or 2030 through annual Consumer Price Index adjustments.

If the council wants the measure on the November 2026 ballot, it must act by Monday, August 4. Palmer and other committee members indicated they prefer a direct council vote instead.

Context and comparisons

Washington's $17.13 minimum wage is the highest statewide floor in the country.

Seattle already pays $21.30 per hour, and Bellingham pays $19.13. A $20 Tacoma rate would slot between those two cities.

A separate ballot initiative seeking a $20 minimum wage and broader worker protections has been tied up at the Washington State Court of Appeals.

Oral arguments in that case are scheduled for Monday, September 15.

What's next

The city has not announced a deadline for the survey. Bushnell has said he plans to bring an ordinance to the council this fall, though no specific meeting date has been set. The next Economic Development Committee meeting is Tuesday, July 28, but minimum wage is not on that agenda.