Tipped workers find themselves facing economic crunches and uncertainty, said Tawanda Forrest. She works as a table games dealer at the Horseshoe Casino, earning $5 an hour plus tips, she said.

"They can afford to pay me more than $5 an hour," she said. "Our rent is going up, our gas and electric is going up, and we're barely making it. We are struggling. We're living in poverty in this city, and it's hard to talk about because it's embarrassing. But it's the truth."

Some in the service industry, meanwhile, said the proposed wage increase would seriously harm restaurants and hotels in the city.

Restaurant finances would come under huge stress, said Melvin Thompson, senior vice president of government affairs and public policy for the Restaurant Association of Maryland. He argued that employees generally earn between $12 to $17 per hour in tips at full-service restaurants, undermining the need for a $15 per hour minimum wage.

"It threatens restaurant survival in more than one way," he said. "The tip credit significantly increases the labor costs for tipped employees who are already earning significantly more than the minimum wage when tips are included."

Willy Dely, the director of operations for Kooper's Tavern, Woody's Rum Bar and Slainte in Fells Point, worried about additional taxes restaurants would have to pay on higher wages. While he said he still needed to review the details of Clarke's proposal, he predicted a compromise may be necessary.

"People seem to forget the burden of the other taxes," he said. "Fifteen dollars an hour is more like $30 an hour for a businessman."

Dely also voiced concern that Baltimore City businesses would suddenly find themselves on unequal footing with businesses in neighboring jurisdictions. That's a concern echoed by Amy Rohrer, CEO of the Maryland Hotel and Lodging Association.

Any increase in minimum wage would likely lead to bumps in other, higher pay grades, Rohrer said. That would leave hotels looking for new sources of revenue, either by raising rates or increasing occupancy. Such a move would be hard to pull off at the quick rate called for in Clarke's bill while hotels fight competition buoyed by lower costs over the county line, Rohrer said.

Meanwhile, the lodging industry already tries to give employees raises, Rohrer said.

"The lodging industry is one where 80 percent of minimum wage workers are eligible for a promotion in less than a year," she said. "Employers need the flexibility to set those salary parameters."

Not every business is against a minimum wage increase. Penny Troutner, the owner of Light Street Cycles, backs a boost. She believes it will give customers more money to spend at her store.

Wages have not kept up on their own, Troutner said.

"Market forces should be taking care of this," she said. "But it isn't."

Market forces could lead to unintended consequences from a minimum wage hike, said Thomas Firey, a senior fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute. Firey has written arguments for completely eliminating minimum wage requirements in the past. He said $15 an hour could leave the city with the worst of both worlds.

Inflation will likely mean $15 an hour is not a living wage in 2020, he said. In the meantime, the threat of higher costs could have businesses looking more actively at shedding jobs.

"Businesses will either raise prices, or if they can't do that, they will find ways to use less labor," he said. "We see more and more lower-wage jobs going with kiosks. We're seeing fast food restaurants experimenting more and more."

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake supports the concept of raising the minimum wage, said spokesman Howard Libit. But she believes increases should be part of a regional or statewide move, not one from a local municipality.

Clarke answered the arguments against her bill Monday. She predicted higher wages putting more money into the economy, outweighing any price increases imposed by businesses. She added that higher wages are a way for companies to contribute to economic opportunity after the unrest of last year.

"We don't need the usual leaving town concerns," she said. "This is not a time for packing and leaving. This has been a time for coming home and contributing."

Baltimore would not be the only municipality in Maryland to raise its minimum wage. Montgomery and Prince George's county councils have each passed bills to raise their minimum wages to $11.50 per hour by 2017.

Rick covers public companies, politics and banks.