Patrick Testin. (Stock photo)

By Patrick Testin, Chairman of the Portage Co. Republican Party

I’ve recently learned of a local petition summoning the Portage County Board of Supervisors to pass a resolution in support of raising the county’s minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. If passed by the county board, the issue would appear as a referendum on the November ballot. And while this proposition may sound good on paper,I challenge our local officials and the petition signers to look at the bigger picture of the negative repercussions for our area small businesses and their employees.

Many small businesses already operate on razor thin profit margins, making just enough to pay their bills, their employees, and keep their doors open. But forcing them to pay their entry-level employees $10.10 per hour only stands to adversely affect their business, consequences of which could be severe, not only for the business but there are negative implications for their employees too.

If this passes, it’s all too likely that area businesses made to comply with this minimum wage increase will have no choice but to raise the price of the goods and/or services or, worse yet, scale back their staffing by either cutting back on the hours allotted to their employees or even lay off some of their staff in order to keep their doors open. Rather than ramming through a steep hike in wage increases and dictating to businesses how much to pay their employees, we should focus on working with our small business owners to create a strong environment for real job growth. Allowing our small businesses to thrive and flourish will allow them grow and expand by hiring more workers and allowing their employees to rise through the ranks to a more sustainable full-time, family-supporting job.

Isn’t that what we want for our community? Portage County should be a place where your dreams of owning a successful business can become a reality and a place where a little hard work leads to good jobs with a family-sustain wage; something that cannot be accomplished with such a sharp rise in the entry-level minimum wage.

Before the County Board even moves forward with a vote on this resolution, I call on them to survey our local businesses asking the following questions of them:

• Can you afford to pay your entry-level employees a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour?
• If forced to pay your employees a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour, will you be able to retain the number of employees you currently have?

1. If no, how many jobs would you have to eliminate?
2. If you will be able to retain the same number of employees, will you be forced to reduce the number of hours they work in a given week?

• Will this raise in minimum wage to $10.10 per hour cause you to raise the prices of the goods and/or services you provide?
• If yes, by what percent will the prices increase?
• Will this decision make it more difficult for you tp remain profitable and remain open?
• Did you sign the petition supporting the minimum wage increase to $10.10 per hour?

The County Board will take up the issue at its August 19th meeting at the courthouse at 5 PM. Make your voice heard- call your county supervisor and tell them to vote “no” and show up to the meeting to voice your concerns. Let’s send a message to the state that, “Portage County is Open for Business”.