Longmont councilors discuss studying an automated-checkout 'workforce impact' fee

A council member introduced the idea of an "automated checkout workforce impact fee" for unmanned or self-checkout kiosks, saying the measure is intended to address effects on lower-skilled workers displaced by automation. The proposal framed the fee as a means to protect "vulnerable people at the bottom" of the labor market and asked whether council wanted staff or the impact team to study options.

Council discussion ranged from examples of retailers already using automation—Home Depot, Sam's Club, Walmart and Target were all cited—to questions about who would bear any fee. One councilor explained the preferred model: "it wouldn't be an impact fee that the city would charge the business. It would be a fee that if a person uses the self automated, they're charged." Several members cautioned that cities acting alone might push business to nearby jurisdictions and suggested the issue could be more appropriately handled at a regional or state level.

Rather than drafting ordinance language, council members favored gathering data and consulting stakeholders. Speakers recommended sending the draft to the city's impact group and asked staff to assess operational options and likely economic effects. No formal motion or vote was recorded in the pre-session; a councilor said the "first motion would be to engage the impact committee or impact team" for further study, but the pre-session ended with agreement to share the discussion materials and pursue research before any formal action.