Caldwell will reject pay raise till union contracts are inked

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said he’ll personally forgo a raise proposed by the city Salary Commission and will hold off on pay raises for his department heads until contracts are reached with union employees.

The commission Tuesday gave final approval to a salary plan that gives a 4 percent pay raise to the mayor, the City Council and most department heads.

The exceptions are the police chief and deputy chiefs, who are recommended to receive 5.5 percent increases; the medical examiner, who would get a 25 percent raise; the deputy medical examiner, who would get a 55 percent raise; and the Royal Hawaiian Band leader, who would get only a 2 percent raise.

The commission’s recommendation would bump Caldwell’s pay to $141,888, each Council member’s pay to $54,552 and the pay of most department heads to $126,768. The police chief’s pay would go to $151,632, and the medical examiner would receive $250,008.

The plan now goes to the Council, which can approve or reject each recommendation but cannot tinker with the numbers. Council members interviewed earlier by the Star-Advertiser either were noncommittal or said they are inclined to reject the raises.

CALDWELL said earlier this month that he was inclined to allow the pay raises as long as they kicked in after July 1. That’s when a 5 percent across-the-board pay reduction, instituted in 2009, is scheduled to end.

The mayor’s comments on Tuesday signal he now would prefer to wait longer for government employee contracts to be settled before allowing the commission’s pay raise plan to take effect.

"I believe that the salary increases set by the Salary Commission are justified," Caldwell said in a news release. "In order to recruit and retain high quality administrators, the city needs to be competitive with the state and other county governments in Hawaii."

However, "civil service contracts are now in the negotiation process," he said. "I will not consider a pay raise for my Cabinet until contracts are resolved and unless city employees will also receive fairly negotiated pay raises."

The city, the state and the other counties have not reached agreements with the county-related units of the two largest government worker unions: the Hawaii Government Employees Association and United Public Workers. No formal talks are scheduled with either union, Caldwell spokes­man Jesse Broder Van Dyke said.

Arbitration hearings with the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers have ended, and the parties are awaiting a decision by the arbitrator, Broder Van Dyke said. The counties and the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association are still in arbitration, he said.