By a two-to-one ratio, voters in the City of Albuquerque decided in the November 6 General Election to amend The Albuquerque Minimum Wage Ordinance to raise the City’s minimum wage from $7.50 per hour to $8.50 per hour effective January 1, 2013. The amended Ordinance also requires a cost-of-living (COL) adjustment to the minimum wage beginning on January 1, 2014, and each year thereafter, rounded to the nearest multiple of five cents. However, for employers who provide healthcare or childcare benefits equal to or in excess of an annualized cost of $2,500.00, the minimum hourly rate payable to those employees is $1.00 less than the then-current minimum wage. The amendment also includes changes to tipped employees’ compensation.