LIHU‘E — In a procedure unique among Hawai‘i counties, Kaua‘i County councilmembers unanimously voted Wednesday to approve raises that will likely affect some of their own salaries.
Salary Commission Resolution No. 2022-1 increases the maximum salaries of the mayor, department heads and councilmembers 15% by July 2024.
Salary Commission Vice Chair Laurie Yoshida explained the rationale behind the raises Wednesday, citing inflation, salary inversions and similar increases in collective-bargaining agreements.
“This doesn’t keep pace with inflation because inflation is higher,” said Yoshida. “We’re just making sure that our salaries aren’t falling behind.”
The measure bumps the council salary from $67,956 to $78,672 in 2024. The council chair makes $76,452, and would make $88,502.
This doesn’t mean that all the councilmembers will be receiving a raise. Council Chair Arryl Kaneshiro and Vice Chair Mason Chock are terming out this year, and all seven seats are up for election in November.
That said, several councilmembers appear poised to reclaim their seats, with Councilmembers Luke Evslin, Bernard Carvalho and KipuKai Kuali‘i towards the top of the field in primary results, and incumbents Felicia Cowden and Billy DeCosta neck and neck in the seventh and eighth spots after the primary race, respectively.
Though all the members supported the measure as a whole, not all approved the council raises.
DeCosta introduced a proposal that would have removed the county council raises from the resolution, increasing salaries only for the mayor and department heads.
An article published Sunday in The Garden Island incorrectly stated that the county council had passed a similar measure in 2019, rejecting their own raises. A measure that would have done this was introduced, but ultimately was voted down.
“I believe we are in a recession. The United States and the rest of the world are struggling,” said DeCosta. “This is a way for the council to show that we are public servants.”
Councilmembers voted down the proposal, with only Cowden and Chock joining DeCosta in support of removing the council raise.
Those opposed to removing the council salaries said the current salary leads to councilmembers having to take on more than one job and limits the pool of potential council members.
Evslin said that keeping salaries more in line with inflation was key to “attracting younger candidates across the demographic spectrum.”
Of the sitting councilmembers, only Cowden does not have a second source of income.
Kaneshiro works as a consultant and sheep rancher, where he makes more than $100,000, ethics disclosures show.
Carvalho receives a state employees retirement income of $70,000. Kuali‘i is paid $22,000 by the YWCA. Evslin gets $20,000 from his business Kamanu Composites, and works as a part-time teacher at the Island School where he makes $5,000. Chock gets $20,000 through the public employee retirement system, and DeCosta gets $70,000 from the state Department of Education, along with $36,000 in rental income.
Kaua‘i is the only county in the state in which the county council holds sway over its own salaries. In Maui, for instance, salaries for the mayor and councilmembers are decided by a salary commission that does not answer to the county council.
Councilmembers expressed distaste over their say in council salaries at the meeting Wednesday.
“I’ve always had a problem with how the process is set up,” said Chock.
Chock said the Charter Commission is currently looking at making changes to the way the process works.
“The best course of action in the long run is to get it out of our hands,” said Chock.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Evslin made $30,000 from Kamanu Composites and that he worked as a substitute teacher at the Island School. That information came from a January 2022 ethics disclosure, instead of the June 2022 filing.
Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
