An annual report on how the minimum wage affects the county’s economic health will no longer be required.
Montgomery County Councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to end that reporting due to changes within the federal government.
In 2017, Montgomery Councilmembers increased the minimum wage from $11.50 to $15 an hour, with the increases to be gradually phased in. At the same time, councilmembers asked the Office of Legislative Oversight to provide annual reports on how the increase affected the local economy.
According to the council, the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis “discontinued collecting County-level data” for four of the 17 indicators that the county was using to prepare its report. Also, members noted, the 2025 federal government shutdown pushed back the availability of some economic indicators.
Councilmember Natali Fani-González, who proposed the change, said it was “an outdated reporting requirement.”
The phase in of the minimum wage to $15 has already been achieved as of Jan. 1, 2024.
“We are going to have to find new and innovative ways” to track how wages affect the economy, said Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles.
The county’s goal “to keep the economy moving forward” will continue, she added.
