Tacoma votes to raise the city's minimum wage to $12 an hour -- not $15

TACOMA -- Voters in Tacoma have decided to raise the city's minimum wage to $12.

The city's voters overwhelmingly (71-29%) chose the $12 figure, to be phased in over two years, over an option that would've hiked the minimum pay to $15-an-hour immediately.

The state minimum wage is $9.47.

The first step toward the new Tacoma figure will be $10.35, starting Feb. 1.