Could the Fight for $15 be coming to central Ohio? In Columbus, some city council members are working towards that goal, but not for all employers.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Brown is spearheading the ordinance to create job-creation incentive programs. Its end goal is to bring a $15-per-hour minimum wage for companies willing to grow in Columbus.

“This is not a minimum wage increase for every job that is in the city of Columbus, but it’s for those jobs that city tax dollars go towards,” Brown said. “This is based on the idea that a living wage is a family-supporting job, so city tax dollars should only go toward those jobs that support families.”

Companies that pay into the city’s 2.5% income tax and offer the $15-per-hour minimum wage would be eligible for an incentive: to get 25% of those city tax dollars back so they can invest in more jobs. Brown said this will make Columbus more competitive when it comes to bringing in new jobs and businesses.

“It is better for the services that the city of Columbus offers. It is better for the ecosystem of families living in the city of Columbus when a living wage job is created,” she explained. “Living wage jobs don’t just help that family. It really helps the whole community around them. And when companies look to invest or locate in a city they look at a lot of factors. The overall health and prosperity of that community is one of them.”

Brown said the program would boost the pay of thousands of workers in just a year’s time and that companies like Huntington and JP Morgan Chase would have already benefited this year if the program already existed.

“It’s a tool a company uses to create jobs, so it’s basically a portion of the income tax generated by those jobs gets invested back into the jobs that the company created,” Brown said. “So, it’s really using city tax dollars and city tax dollars shouldn’t be going towards jobs that don’t support families.”