HILO — Hawaii County Council members would each give up at least $8,000 in yearly wages under a proposal the council's Finance Committee is scheduled to discuss today.

The nonbinding resolution asks the county's Salary Commission to rescind the 22.14 percent pay hike it granted all nine lawmakers last year.
The raises took effect July 1, 2008. The resolution from Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong does not state if reverting back to the lower pay is retroactive to that date or starts with lawmakers' next paycheck.
Yagong said he has not spoken with any of his colleagues to learn if they support the measure, but it has received strong backing from the public.
They have said "overwhelmingly" that the raises are too high due to the county's poor financial situation and lawmakers should start with themselves when it comes to cutting employee costs, Yagong said.
"The economic climate, I think, demands that we set the example, especially as elected officials," he said.
He called the raises "absurd."
"As government leaders, we can't be oblivious to what's happening around us," Yagong said of rising unemployment and talk of furloughing state workers.
Taxpayers would save roughly $85,000 a year by reverting to the council's old pay, which was a minimum of $39,240 for all but the chairman, who used to earn at least $43,574, according to figures the Human Resources Department provided.
Calculating the actual savings is made more difficult because council members have four "steps" or salary amounts that are based on how long each member has served. Yagong's resolution doesn't state if members return to their former step level or just forego the 22.14 percent raise.
County Personnel Director Mike Ben said he thinks the pay, under the proposal, would revert to levels that existed before July 1, 2008, including step increases.
"They've got to be clear exactly what they're asking for," he said.
Under Yagong's proposal, chairman J Yoshimoto's pay would drop more than $10,000 from $54,336 to $43,574. The chairman receives the highest salary.
Other members' wages would be reduced by nearly $10,000 annually, while freshman members would earn $8,688 less.
One of those new members is Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi, Finance Committee chairman, who was not on the council when the raises took effect.
Noting this fiscal year's budget is already balanced and has money to pay the raises, Onishi said he'd like to see the resolution postponed until the next budget process starts early next year.
"We can't second guess the Salary Commission because that's their role," Onishi said, adding voters in 1974 established the appointed commission to set elected officials' pay.
"It was done, I guess, to keep the elected officials out of the process," Onishi said.
Yagong said he'll follow up the wage proposal with another resolution asking Mayor Billy Kenoi to take a no-raise position to current contract negotiations with the United Public Workers and the Hawaii Government Employees Association. Contracts with the UPW and HGEA expired June 30.
Yagong said he wants the Finance Committee to hear that resolution during its July 21 meeting in Keauhou. The measure also would offer Kenoi the flexibility to reduce workers' pay or make other cost-cutting moves, Yagong said.
If lawmakers reject their own pay cut, then "we have absolutely zero justification for asking our union employees to sacrifice," he said.