OHA wants to pay administrator more
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Some Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees want to boost the salary of the agency's top administrative job, which pays $85,200 per year.
"If we want to have an efficiently run administration team, I think we have to look into hiring the best people," said trustee John Waihe'e IV, who believes the administrator should earn up to 20 percent more.
Former courts administrator Clyde Namu'o has held the top OHA job since June. Waihe'e said trustees should have the option of raising Namu'o's pay when his two-year contract expires, or of offering more when seeking a replacement.
"I would like to give the current administrator a raise," Waihe'e said. "He's worked out very well and we'd like to keep him on, but if not, we'd like to hire someone of a high caliber."
Top pay for the position is tied to the $85,200 cap on salaries for heads of other state departments. OHA's nine trustees are scheduled to consider today whether to ask lawmakers during the next legislative session to exempt the agency from the cap.
OHA also is exploring whether the administrator's pay scale can be treated similarly to that of the state schools superintendent, said Waihe'e, who is floating the pay-increase proposal.
That position's salary cap is detached from the schedule for other departments, and pays up to $150,000 per year.
OHA runs or pays for a variety of programs meant to assist people of Hawaiian ancestry. Recent initiatives include creating a registration system that provides identification cards to people with Hawaiian blood, and providing low-interest loans to Hawaiian-owned businesses affected by the economic slump that followed the Sept. 11 attacks.
The agency also has come under attack in lawsuits that challenge its restriction of benefits to Hawaiians. Last month, a federal judge denied a request by 16 plaintiffs to immediately suspend such programs, which they contend violate the U.S. Constitution. A similar suit was dismissed in February.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8090.
