Increase pay for Cabinet members

It’s fair to say that nobody in government works for the big money.

A cynic may disagree, saying that top government officials can later parlay their positions into high-paying jobs in the private sector.

But we prefer the noncynical view: that for Hawaii’s best and brightest, who can earn much more money outside government, the real lure of serving on the governor’s Cabinet is the prospect of effecting change and making a meaningful difference in this state.

But clearly the financial sacrifice can become a dealbreaker for job candidates whom the state should be able to recruit. In fact, that point was reached long ago in Hawaii, as Gov. David Ige pointed out this week in describing his struggle to fill out his Cabinet.

“We did get turned down quite a lot,” he said.

Ige was speaking before an audience at the state Employees’ Retirement System Investment Education Summit. His observation — that Cabinet-level pay is insufficient to draw the best candidates to the positions — is hard to dispute, given the high cost of living and the fact that the pay scales for the jobs put Hawaii in the middle of the pack at best.

Before the governor received his raise — which took effect July 1 and was authorized by the Hawaii Salary Commission in 2013 — his post garnered $117,312, giving the job a ranking of 33rd out of the 50 states. With the raise, he earns $149,556 a year, a sizable boost to the No. 22 spot nationally, but still relatively low.

Ige’s Cabinet members earn less than he does, and their salaries are non-competitive even within state government.

Other top state administrators who work outside the executive branch, including those at the University of Hawaii and the state Department of Education, are paid more than Ige can currently offer his top leadership team members, who have broad responsibilities and work under the hard light of public scrutiny. It’s no wonder the administration had a tough time recruiting for the spots.

Unfortunately, this may remain a problem for some time.

In 2006, an amendment to the Constitution was ratified by the voters, consolidating three separate salary commissions into one that deals with pay for judges, lawmakers and the executive branch.

The amendment set out that by the 40th day of the regular 2007 legislative session, and every six years thereafter, the commission would submit its recommendations to the Legislature.

The panel convened in 2007 and 2013 but is not due to meet again until 2019. So change can’t happen in the near term.

In the meantime, the recruiting problem is something lawmakers should consider when evaluating departmental staffing needs outside the constitutional limits. And at the appropriate time, raises for Cabinet members should be issued.

The amount of money involved is a relative pittance compared to the ability to recruit top-flight talent for some of the state government’s most important jobs. As healthy a raise as Ige got, something over $30,000 yearly, if that’s multiplied across the Cabinet posts, the grand total each year would be in six figures — not a lot on the state annual budgetary scale.

Credentialed and experienced executives can’t instantly overcome forces such as bureaucratic inertia, but leadership skills are powerful. The best candidates for these jobs would be managers who can change the seemingly unresponsive culture of government bureaucracy.

The state needs that change, and the people with the motivation and skills to carry it out. Keeping the lid too tightly on executive salaries is penny wise and pound foolish.