Kauaians urge council to OK raises for the mayor, others

LIHU‘E — Residents urged the Kaua‘i County Council yesterday to approve $175,000 in proposed salary increases for Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste and up to 30 appointees.

Should council members approve higher salaries recommended by the Kaua‘i Salary Commission, Baptiste’s yearly salary would increase from $73,188 to $80,000, Administrative Assistant Gary Heu’s yearly salary would increase from $70,193 to $77,000, and the county engineer’s yearly salary would increase from $69,371 to $75,000.

During a public hearing at the historic County Building here, members of various county commissions and residents emphasized the last salary increase for the positions came in 1994.

Increasing the salaries would put the salaries of Kaua‘i officials closer to those of their counterparts from Maui and the Big Island, proponents said.

A salary hike also would help Kaua‘i County retain top-quality employees, and attract the same type of employees in the future, those in support of the raises said.

In anticipation of the proposed salary increase recommended by the Kaua‘i Salary Commission, Councilman Daryl Kaneshiro said the council approved the $175,000 in next year’s budget.

The funds are part of a $102.5-million county operating budget the council passed this week, and sent to Baptiste for his signature of approval.

Kaneshiro said he wanted to study the salary-hike proposal more before approving it in its entirety.

Council Vice Chair James Tokioka said if the salary hikes are approved, they would go into effect during the fiscal year beginning Thursday, July 1, 2004.

In addition to the salary hikes proposed for the mayor, his administrative aide and the county engineer, salary commission members recommended salary increases for:

• The deputy county engineer, from a range of $41,622 to $64,168 to $69,000;
• Director of finance, from $69,371 to $75,000;
• Deputy director of finance, from $41,622 to $64,168 to $69,000;
• County attorney, from $69,371 to $75,000;
• First deputy county attorney, to $69,000;
• Other deputy county attorneys, from $41,622 to $64,168 to $66,000;
• Prosecuting attorney, from $69,371 to $75,000;
• First deputy prosecuting attorney, to $69,000;
• Other deputy prosecuting attorneys, from $41,622 to $64,168 to $66,000;
• Police chief, from $66,073 to $75,000;
• Deputy police chief, from $36,671 to $61,118 to $69,000;
• Planning director, from $69,371 to $75,000;
• Deputy planning director, from $41,622 to $64,168 to $69,000;
• Personnel director, from $66,073 to $72,000;
• Manager and chief engineer of Department of Water, from $69,371 to $75,000;
• Deputy manager and engineer, DOW, from $41,622 to $64,168 to $69,000;
• Fire chief, from $66,073 to $75,000;
• County clerk, from $66,073 to $75,000;
• Deputy county clerk, from $36,671 to $61,118 to $69,000;
• Director of the Office of Economic Development, from $64,731 to $69,000;
• Director of the Liquor Control Commission, from $55,000 to $69,000;
• Director of the Offices of Community Assistance, from $66,073 to $72,000.

Liquor Control Commission Chairwoman Shirley Akita spoke in support of a salary hike for all department heads and Eric Honma, director of the Liquor Control Commission.

She said Honma has not had a salary increase since he was hired in 1994. Between 1995 and 2004, the minimum wage rose from $5.25 to $6.25, an increase of 20 percent, and the Liquor Control Commission’s budget has gone up as well, she noted.

Since both situations are a reality and 10 years have passed since Honma was hired, and he has performed well on the job, he should get a raise, Akita reasoned.

“He provides regulatory and enforcement oversight of an industry that has grown to over $60 million in annual gross sales,” Akita said.

She said not all members of the commission could make it to yesterday’s meeting, but “we all concur and feel strongly that an increase in salary for Mr. Honma is warranted.”

Pauline Ventura, another Liquor Control Commission member, said she has just begun serving on the body, and has worked with Honma for only a short time.

But she said she has found him to be a “very able, determined, serious and well-qualified director who carries out his duties and responsibilities with authority and in a timely manner.”

Fellow Commissioner Ray Sato voiced similar sentiments.

Kaua‘i Police Commissioner Carol Furtado said the police chief has responsibility for 145 police officers and other department employees, and that proposed salary increases for the chief and other department heads are long overdue.

“I look at the worth of the positions, and these positions are worth more than what they are getting,” she said.

Furtado also said she doesn’t think what is being proposed is enough, but that “it is a start.”

Others voiced concerns that longtime civil-service workers make more than their superiors.

But Council Chairman Kaipo Asing noted those workers can’t be blamed for making more than their bosses, as they have put in many years on their jobs, and probably deserve the higher salaries.

Some state civil-service workers with 30-plus years of experience make more than $90,000 a year.

Mark Hubbard, who heads the Kaua‘i Salary Commission, said commissioners compared the salaries of the department heads of Kaua‘i with the salaries of department heads with Maui County and Hawai‘i County.

“And in general, Kaua‘i is 20 to 25 percent” behind comparable positions with the other two counties, Hubbard said.

Hubbard said commissioners had a two-prong approach in forging the proposed increases.

One prong dealt with efforts by the commission to raise salaries so that they could come as close as possible to the salaries of appointees from the other two counties. The other prong dealt with trying to close the gap further in the future, he said.

Salary commission members had proposed salary increases in the past, but council members rejected the requests because the island economy was still recovering from the effects of Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992.

Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.