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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Thursday, April 21, 2005

4% raise proposed for city officials

 •  Chart: Pay proposals

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

The city Salary Commission yesterday recommended 4 percent pay raises for all top city officials, including the mayor, City Council members and the police and fire chiefs.

Now it will up to the council to accept or reject the proposed raises. Last year the council turned down 21 percent raises recommended by the Salary Commission.

The six-member commission voted yesterday to recommend 4 percent raises this time. "We felt that was a fair and reasonable adjustment," commission member Guy Tajiri said.

Tajiri, who is business manager for the Hawai'i Fire Fighters Association, said the commission members believed the officials deserve a raise but that a tight city budget meant the increase needed to be moderate.

"We feel that we could have justified a higher amount but we understand the financial situation," he said.

The last time all those officials got a raise was July 2001, Tajiri said, when the commission approved a 2 percent raise for the mayor, the council chair and council members, managing director, deputy managing director, prosecuting attorney, deputy and all other department heads and deputies.

With the council poised to approve significant sewer fee increases recommended by Mayor Mufi Hannemann,Tajiri said commission members felt that 4 percent was appropriate.

The total annual cost of the increase for raises for all the top city officials would be $174,724, Tajiri said.

The council is allowed only to accept or reject the salary proposal as is; it may not give raises to some officials and not to others, or change the size of the raises.

Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said he had not seen the recommendations himself and hadn't had a chance to get any feedback from any other council members.

Council member Charles Djou said the city budget is so tight that the city simply can't afford pay raises for elected officials or union members, who are expected to get arbitrated pay raises this year.

"I cannot justify taking a raise if at the same time I advocate not giving a raise to the line employees," Djou said.

Hannemann spokesman Bill Brennan said the mayor "would be willing to work with the council to make it (raises) happen if they see fit to go along with the recommendation" of the Salary Commission.

Brennan said the pay scale proved challenging when Hannemann was recruiting Cabinet members and that "he (Hannemann) thought a modest 4 percent hike would help."

Tajiri said certain city officials got raises in 2003 and 2002. He said police and fire officials last got a 5 percent raise in 2003 and in 2002 and the prosecutor and staff got a 3 percent raise that year.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.

• • •

PAY PROPOSALS
Now Proposed
Mayor $112,200 $116,688
Managing director $107,100 111,384
Police, fire chief $110,206 $114,624
Prosecuting attorney $99,807 $103,800
Department heads $99,807 $103,800
Council chair $48,450 $50,388
Council member $43,350 $45,084
Source: City Salary Commission