The city of Las Cruces recently announced an upward adjustment in the minimum wage, increasing it from $12.00 to $12.36 per hour. The minimum hourly wage for tipped employees will also see a rise, moving up from $4.78 to $4.95 an hour. These adjustments are in accordance with the Las Cruces Municipal Code (LCMC), which impacts workers within the city.
Beginning on January 1, 2024, Las Cruces will implement an increase in its minimum wage. Despite the state's minimum wage remaining at $12.00 an hour in 2024, the city will enforce its own minimum wage as dictated by Ordinance 2726 enacted in 2014. According to a press release by the city of Las Cruces, this ordinance not only established a minimum wage but also introduced annual increases that link both the minimum and tipped wages to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 2020 onwards.
According to another press release by the city of Las Cruces, since 2020, the city has connected its minimum wage and tipped wage adjustments to the CPI. Every year in September, these wages are recalculated based on changes in CPI and compared with state rates. The higher of the two is then adopted by the city. While the city's minimum wage was higher in 2020 leading to its adoption, from 2021 to 2023, it was superseded by the state's rate. However, consistently maintaining a higher rate than that of the state's, the tipped wage determined by city ordinance has been continuously adopted.
The Las Cruces City Council represents various districts and focuses on long-term visioning, policy-making and communication with residents according to information provided on their webpage by the city of Las Cruces. Among their key responsibilities are policy creation, budget approval and hiring of a city manager. Although councilors do not handle personnel matters, they collaborate with the city manager to set strategic goals. Elected for four-year terms, council members who reside in their districts elect the Mayor Pro-Tem and receive various benefits, including insurance and retirement options. The council also determines the compensation for councilors and the mayor.