Public comment at the July 1 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County drew sustained remarks about the county's minimum wage ordinance, with speakers urging either a pause to planned increases or defending the policy as a tool to improve living standards.

The discussion matters because the county's wage rules apply to businesses operating in unincorporated Boulder County and commenters said differences with neighboring jurisdictions create competitive disadvantages for small farms and businesses.

Nick Little, speaking for the Keep Boulder County Farms and Jobs Alliance, told commissioners the policy "is hurting our businesses, it's hurting our kids" and argued higher wages "erase entry level job opportunities." David Skaggs, who identified himself as a member of the same alliance, urged a pause in county increases until surrounding municipalities meet the county's rates and warned that a provision requiring a worker employed "for 4 hours a day or more in unincorporated Boulder County" to be paid the higher county minimum creates a bookkeeping burden for businesses serving county customers.

Labor representatives offered a different view. Alejandro Beatty, president of the Boulder Area Labor Council, said the local economic analysis supports wage increases and argued higher pay leads to more local spending: "If I make more money, I can go out to eat." Allison Steele, a grocery owner in Niwot, said her small business would be strained by a county wage higher than nearby municipalities and asked the commission to consider pausing further increases.

Commissioner Stoltzmann responded that the commission hears the concerns but faces legal and timing limits: "the lack of any action now is not because we don't hear you. It's not because you need to come again and again and again. It's because we, by law, can only do this, in an ordinance effective January 1 of each year." Stoltzmann also framed wage policy as part of broader affordability issues, saying federal and state inaction has pushed more decisions to local governments and noting the county is "very actively working, to make housing more affordable and to create more affordable housing opportunities in Boulder County."

A second commissioner noted the county intends to meet with a consortium of cities next month to seek regional alignment and confirmed that, under current law, some parts of the ordinance (including the four‑hour rule described by Skaggs) derive from state drafting of the rule. No formal vote or change to the wage ordinance was taken at the meeting.

Speakers and commissioners repeatedly emphasized that further deliberations will be needed to address bookkeeping concerns for businesses, coordinate regionally and evaluate options that balance small‑business competitiveness with worker affordability.