Lingle defends raises for Cabinet, remarks on arbitration award
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Gov. Linda Lingle said she finds no discrepancy between her previous public comments advocating raises for her department heads and her pronouncements now that there is not enough money to increase the pay of other government workers.
Lingle said Thursday that while she may have advocated pay raises for her Cabinet in the past, she did not appear before the Executive Salary Commission when it discussed the issue late last year and early this year. The governor, nonetheless, said she believes Cabinet officials deserve raises.
"We specifically did not offer any testimony in support of any increases for any of our directors," Lingle said. "I have spoken out publicly that I feel 14 years without an increase for the directors of the state's departments is not right.
I think it is important that there be an increase but we purposely didn't go down and testify before the commission because we thought they should make that decision."
When she became governor in December 2002, Lingle expressed frustration at the difficulty in attracting top-flight talent to consider Cabinet-level posts in her administration. She noted then that one key reason given repeatedly was that the pay for department heads is lower than similar jobs in the private sector.
The Legislature last year approved a bill introduced by Lingle to establish an Executive Salary Commission.
The commission voted last month to give raises to department heads starting this year — the first such raises in 14 years — and to the governor, lieutenant governor and the chief of staff beginning in 2006. The recommendations will take effect unless rejected by the Legislature.
With a crucial decision on the pay of 23,000 members of the Hawai'i Government Employees Association expected Monday, union supporters have called attention to the Executive Salary Commission's decision to offer raises for the governor and her Cabinet.
Randy Perreira, HGEA deputy executive director, said he doesn't have a problem with Lingle supporting raises for her Cabinet. "Whatever increases (the department heads) stand to get, I just find it unfair that she would pick on the lower-paid employees while supporting increases of some kind for her appointees," he said.
Perreira noted that a resolution in the Senate would reject the raises for the executive salaries and that even if the Legislature allows the raises to occur, Lingle could choose to withhold money for them.
Under the plan, the 15 department heads under the governor and their deputies would get raises beginning in July. Pay increases for the governor, lieutenant governor and chief of staff would not be given until July 2006. Additionally, they would get 2 percent raises for each of the next seven years. The commission is scheduled to meet every 10 years.
The governor's salary would increase to $112,000 in 2006, an 18 percent increase over the current $94,780. By 2013, whoever is sitting in the governor's chair would be making $128,652.79. The salary of the lieutenant governor and chief of staff would rise to $100,000 from $90,041, an 11 percent increase.
There would be four pay tiers for department heads, who all make $85,302 annually. The attorney general would receive the heftiest raises of anyone getting a recommendation in the report. The state's top lawyer would get $105,000 beginning July 1, an increase of 23 percent.
Deputy department heads now make between $72,886 and $77,966. The recommendation would increase their salaries to between $78,300 and $96,600, depending on which tier their department falls under and other factors. They would also get annual 2 percent increases beginning in the second year.
The pay of the school superintendent is determined by the Department of Education while the salary of the president of the University of Hawai'i is set by the Board of Regents.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
