HILO —There will be no raises, but no pay cuts, either, for top Hawaii County executives this year, following a unanimous vote Monday by the county Salary Commission.
HILO —There will be no raises, but no pay cuts, either, for top Hawaii County executives this year, following a unanimous vote Monday by the county Salary Commission.
Salaries for County Council members will be dropping a little in December, however, under the plan.
The status quo salary plan for the top 40 positions cost the county $3.5 million annually not including benefits. Salaries range from $114,768 for the police chief and fire chief and $113,580 for the county prosecutor to between $76,004 and $85,500 for Mayor Billy Kenoi’s four executive assistants.
Kenoi is the chief executive of the county, but his $109,152 salary is the sixth-highest in the county.
The salary plan eliminates the automatic step increases and requires future salary changes to be made by commission vote.
By a separate unanimous vote, the commission set County Council salaries at a flat $48,000 annually, with the council chairman making $52,000. Currently, council members make between $47,928 and $49,920, depending on tenure, and the chairman makes $54,336.
“I don’t know anywhere in the world where an elected official is paid based on years of service,” said Commissioner Brian DeLima, who introduced the change in pay plans. “It doesn’t make logical sense to me.”
The Salary Commission in 2009 gave County Council members a 22 percent raise. The council on a 6-2 vote had killed Council Chairman Dominic Yagong’s attempt to have the raise rescinded.
Yagong’s request for a 12 percent across-the-board salary cut for executives, which would have saved $1 million annually, was rejected by the commission.
Acting County Prosecutor Charlene Iboshi, and Senior Deputy Corporation Counsel Joe Kamelamela urged the commission to not cut salaries, especially considering the attorneys in both offices have been subject to several years of twice-monthly or monthly furloughs, equivalent to pay cuts because the attorneys’ hours didn’t change. The current monthly furlough day is equal to a 4.615 percent pay cut.
“It’s hard to recruit people to work 10 to 15 hours more than they get paid a week. … The reality is, people have to do the work,” Iboshi said. “We’re not going in for an increase — they just want to hold.”
Commissioners seemed sympathetic.
“Our most important resource is our human resources, our people,” said Chairman George Handgis.
At the same time, however, several commissioners made it clear they will be looking at the entire county salary structure in the future with an eye toward increasing efficiency. Commissioner Marcella Stroh, a vice president at Central Pacific Bank, recounted how a bank employee recently took a job at county government.
“She was so efficient, she did two weeks’ work in two days. … Her supervisor was telling her, ‘You’re making us look bad. Take your time,’” Stroh said. “We need to measure efficiency in the county.”