The city of Denver may become one of the first in Colorado to set a local minimum wage. A proposal to be announced Thursday would set minimum pay for workers in Denver at $15 an hour by 2021, according to Hancock administration spokesman Mike Strott. Mayor Michael Hancock and Councilwoman At-large Robin Kniech are leading the proposal, which would have to be approved by the Denver City Council. The statewide minimum wage will be $12 an hour in 2020, but a new state law allows counties and cities to set their own rates. If the Denver law is approved this year, the first step of the wage increase could happen Jan.