Top Hawaii County executives will get significant pay hikes starting Jan. 1.
The vote Friday by the Salary Commission was 8-0 in favor of the raises, with one commissioner, Judy Greenbaum, excused.
The pay increases of 22.44% on New Year’s Day and another 5% effective July 1, were passed without any discussion from the commissioners.
There was only one testifier at Friday’s meeting, Kahalekaiopuna Terry, a county solid waste facility attendant, who voiced what he called “sincere concerns about the salary increases.”
Terry said he took an informal straw poll of coworkers and others around him that encompassed an estimated 100 people.
“Two people were for it; the majority was against,” he said.
“I want to ask the panel, commission, to take into consideration their own due diligence in making this decision, because these raises seem out of touch.”
Mayor Mitch Roth’s pay will increase from $162,582 to $199,068 on Jan. 1 and $209,028 on July 1 — the latter being the date the next fiscal year starts.
“I haven’t seen anything … that deserves such a big raise. Our roads is terrible,” Terry said, using downtown Hilo as an example.
“We have panhandlers at almost every major intersection. I don’t see the county outreaching to the homeless people.”
Terry said he and other unionized county workers forced to work during the pandemic are owed COVID-19 hazard pay, something the Hawaii Government Employees Association and United Public Workers were negotiating with the county.
“I don’t see the mayor as a qualified leader, because he owes me and a lot of public servants a lot of money, which, I have no idea why he’s holding up our money,” Terry said.
The only other person who testified on the matter did so at the commission’s November meeting. Hugh Ono, a professional engineer and the former Salary Commission chairman, testified in favor of the raises.
“Salary adjustments are not for the individuals who hold the positions; they’re for the positions that these people hold,” Ono told the Tribune-Herald last month.
In addition to the mayor’s pay raise, the $153,612 yearly salary of the managing director — a post currently held by Lee Lord, who is retiring Dec. 29 — will be hiked to $188,088 on New Year’s Day and $197,496 on July 1. Deputy Managing Director Bobby Command’s $132,744 yearly pay will increase to $162,540 on Jan. 1 and $170,676 on July 1.
County Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen and Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Strance, the county’s top civil attorney, currently are paid $153,228 a year. Their pay will increase on Jan. 1 to $187,620 on Jan. 1 and $197,004 on July 1.
First Deputy Prosecutor Stephen Frye makes $145,968, as does Assistant Corporation Counsel J Yoshimoto. Their salaries will increase to $178,828 on Jan. 1 and $187,668 on July 1.
In a Salary Commission document titled Proposed Findings of Fact, the 22.44% is called an “inflationary adjustment,” and is tied to the Consumer Price Index rate change.
While county executive compensation has remained frozen at 2018 levels, police officers represented by the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers are receiving a cumulative across-the-board increase of 21.25% for the period of July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2025.
During the same period, firefighters represented by the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association are set to receive a 17.25% raise, while professional and scientific employees represented by HGEA are to receive a 16.02% pay hike.
The increases next year also include department heads, the county clerk and his deputy, county auditor, the County Council chair and council members.
Collective bargaining increases, overtime pay and Civil Service step increases also have created a situation known as “salary inversion” where some subordinates are making more money than the department heads and deputy department heads that oversee their work.
None of the positions covered in the Salary Commission’s proposal are eligible for overtime pay or step increases.
Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz was a major for the Honolulu Police Department who took a pay cut to become the Big Island’s top cop a little more than a year ago.
Moszkowicz’s current $153,270 salary will be increased $187,668 as of Jan. 1 and $197,052 on July 1. Deputy Chief Reed Mahuna’s $145,968 salary will go to $178,728 on New Year’s Day and $187,668 on July 1.
Fire Chief Kazuo Todd is currently paid $151,200 a year. His salary will be increased to $185,136 on Jan. 1 and $194,400 on July 1. Deputy Chief Eric Moller’s current $143,640 salary will be increased to $175,884 on Jan. 1 and $184,680 on July 1.
Department heads, including the county clerk and county auditor, have salaries between $126,420 and $132,744. Their increases will make their pay range between $154,800 and $162,540 on Jan. 1 and $162,540 and $170,676 on July 1.
Their deputies are paid between $113,778 and $126,420. Those salaries will increase to between $139,320 and $154,800 on New Year’s Day and between $146,292 and $162,540 on July 1.
The salary for council members currently is $70,008, with the council chair making $77,016. Members will receive raises to $85,728 on Jan. 1 and $90,024 on July 1, with the chair receiving hikes to $94,308 on Jan. 1 and to $99,024 on July 1.
According to the commission, the salary increases on Jan. 1 will cost taxpayers $484,107 — 0.06% of the county’s operating budget — until June 31, the end of the fiscal year. The increases for the fiscal year starting July 1 will be an additional $264,216, or roughly 0.03% of the current operating budget.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.