Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm wants a 17% pay raise.
The pay increase requested by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for its elected leader would make Alm’s salary the same as a state Circuit Court judge’s, according to a Feb. 27 letter the department sent to the Honolulu Salary Commission.
Alm earns $176,688 a year, and First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Thomas J. Brady makes $168,000 a year, according to the city Department of Human Resources. If the Honolulu Salary Commission approves the requests, both Alm and Brady’s salaries would increase by 17%, with Alm earning $207,084 a year and Brady’s annual salary increasing to $196,729.
The department is also requesting pay increases for its division chiefs.
During a Monday morning presentation to salary commissioners, Alm pointed to guidance from the National District Attorney Association recommending that the salary of the prosecuting attorney match the salary of a state Circuit Court judge.
“We here in Honolulu do 70% of the prosecutions in the state. So it’s very busy, it’s a very stressful job,” said Alm, speaking to commissioners. “This is hard work, there is no question about it.”
Alm oversees an operating budget of $24.4 million this fiscal year and 304 employees. The next-largest prosecutor’s office is Hawaii island’s with 120 employees and an operating budget of $11.1 million, according to city records. The Hawaii (island) Prosecuting Attorney earns $153,688.
In July 2000 the Honolulu position paid $95,000 a year. The last increase occurred in 2019 when the salary went to $176,688 from $170,712, according to city records.
“This is the longest period without an increase since the Great Recession of 2009-2012,” read Alm’s Feb. 27 written request to the Salary Commission.
Except for Brady, no increase for deputy prosecuting attorneys is being sought from the commission. Deputy prosecuting attorneys start at $81,744 and may earn up to $130,896 a year. As of Jan. 1 the average annual salary for deputy prosecutor in Honolulu was $104,507.11.
“Until you are in court every day, you don’t know if you like it,” Alm told salary commissioners Monday. “It’s stressful, it’s fun, it’s really interesting.”
“Raising the Prosecuting Attorney’s salary will provide the discretion to increase the pay of department division chiefs to a maximum of $170,000,” read the pitch. There are six division chiefs in the office, and the job is “asking a lot of them,” Alm told commissioners Monday.
Upon taking office, Alm said he and his leadership team set up policies that outlined clear career paths and salary increases.
“Adjusting the top of the pay scale will allow our department to provide competitive salaries for our division chiefs and captains,” wrote Alm. “We will continue to use our salary schedule to set the pay of all deputies based on their experience and progression through the department.”
Alm told commissioners he would “love” to see the average annual salary of deputy prosecuting attorneys reach $105,000.
Top prosecutors with similar roles on the mainland were cited by Alm as justification for the pay raises. In jurisdictions of comparable size and cost of living like San Jose, the top prosecutor earned $381,528, in San Francisco it was $309,905 and in Seattle/King County it was $223,625, according to Alm’s presentation.
Salary commissioners in make their decision consider comparable salaries paid to other state and city appointed and elected officials, increased pay for civil servants, “inversion” issues where department heads are paid less than their top division chiefs, the consumer price index and other economic factors.
The City Council gets the final vote on the pay scale but is only allowed to approve or reject it by a three-fourths majority. Failure to vote either way results in it becoming law July 1.
