While Gov. Ed Rendell plans to make increasing the minimum wage a "top priority" when the state legislature reconvenes this fall, some students and downtown businesses diverge on the benefits of the proposal.

Last week, Rendell proposed that the minimum wage be raised to $6.25 an hour in January 2006 and to $7.15 a year later, said Rendell's spokeswoman Kate Phillips.

"It would raise wages for 254,000 people," Phillips said. "It needs to be raised at the state level because the federal government hasn't done it."

State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, said that although he has not seen the legislation, he feels that it is more important for the state to create jobs than to increase the minimum wage.

"The minimum wage seems to float itself around near when it comes time for re-elections," he said. "We need to create jobs and retain jobs and entice businesses to come to Pennsylvania, and I'm not sure a mandated minimum wage increase will do anyone of those things."

Benninghoff added that there are other issues that need to be a focus for legislation.

"I think we need to be severely addressing [the] skyrocketing cost of health care, property taxes, how we fund education," he said.

Marya Schoenholtz, owner of Irving's Bagels, 110 E. College Ave., said that an increase in the minimum wage like Rendell has proposed would make running a business in State College more difficult.

"As a business owner, it's tough running a business in a college town," Schoenholtz said. "We're running on tight margins."

She said rent is high for a small town, and most students are gone six months of the year.

An increase in employee wages would make it tougher to turn a profit, she said.

"I'm not unsympathetic to workers," she said. "In a college town, it's different because our employees, for the most part, aren't relying on their wages for their living."

Jenny Miller (senior-public relations and business) works at McLanahan's Downtown Market, 116 S. Allen St. She said an increase in the minimum wage is necessary.

"Prices are going up, and we should be compensated for that and be paid more," she said.

She added that workers who are supporting a family on minimum wage need the increase most.

"Not everyone who works minimum wage is a college student," she said.

The federal government last raised the minimum wage in 1997 to $5.15 an hour.

Phillips said this is important legislation because neighboring states have already increased their minimum wage since 1997.

"We have to keep our competitiveness with neighboring states," she said.

Currently, New York, New Jersey and Delaware have minimum wages that are higher than the minimum wage in Pennsylvania.

Phillips added that an increase in the minimum wage would stimulate the economy and spur small business growth.

Collegian staff writer Alex Muller contributed to this report.