Only 3 of 9 Council members comment on pay hikes

Less than a month remains before the Honolulu City Council sees a more than 64% pay boost and Mayor Rick Blangiardi and top city executives receive a nearly 12.6% salary increase.

In the meantime, following the Salary Commission’s April 25 adoption of the city’s 2024 fiscal year salary schedule, many on the City Council have largely remained silent on the subject of their pay raises, which would boost their salaries to $113,304, up from $68,904, and the Council chair’s pay to $123,288 from $76,968.

The Honolulu Star-­Advertiser on Wednesday asked all nine Council members where they stood on the salary issue and whether they will call for a public hearing on the pay raises before they take effect July 1.

Three of the nine Council members immediately replied — two in support of the pay increases and one who was not.

Vice Chair Esther Kia‘aina, representing District 3, which covers Windward Oahu from Ahuimanu to Waimanalo, said in her written response that although she preferred to see the Council salaries “phased in over time, I support the Salary Commission’s recommendation to account for the actual performance of our jobs and I think the basis of their recommendation is sound.”

She added: “The Salary Commission took into consideration the actual Council members’ work performed, salaries of neighbor island council members and City managers and staff, cost of living, and inflation indices. It also considered that council members’ salaries have been frozen 19 times over the last 33 years, and tied the recommended council member salary to the salary for entry-level City division chiefs and administrators.

“For this reason, I do not support an outright rejection of the commission’s recommendations. I believe that the members of the Salary Commission worked diligently to fulfill their responsibility under the City Charter, which is to provide ‘adequate compensation for work performed,’” Kia‘aina said. “The City Council is a full-time job that demands our full-time dedication and focus. Given the importance of this issue and the significant public discourse on the topic, I support an open dialogue by the Council members.”

Kia‘aina also noted new legislation — Resolution 109 and Bill 33 — that she and Council Chair Tommy Waters put forward May 25, which, if approved, would prohibit any outside employment or financial gain beyond an elective Council seat. Resolution 109, a charter amendment, would require voter approval to take effect, while Bill 33 would commence with Council approval.

Both pieces of legislation are scheduled to be heard for first readings at the full City Council meeting Wednesday.

“Regardless of the outcome at the Honolulu City Council on the pay increases, I will continue to advocate for hearings on Bill 33 (2023) and Resolution (109), which proposed to ban outside employment by City Council members,” Kia‘aina said. “Banning outside employment would ensure current and future council members can fully dedicate themselves to their jobs. At the start of this year, I worked to adjust my workload with outside employment in order to fulfill my City Council kuleana.”

Council member Calvin Say, representing District 5, which covers Palolo Valley, St. Louis Heights, Manoa, Moiliili, McCully, Ala Moana, Makiki and portions of Kakaako, said he supports salary increases for those serving on the Council.

“Above salary considerations, I feel that it is important for elected officials and City Administration to remember the roles they serve and the responsibility they have to improve the quality of life for our communities,” Say said via email. “I trust that the Salary Commission, through its research, public meetings, and findings of fact, has done its duty as defined by Charter, which is to provide recommendations on the salaries for the Mayor, Council, Directors, Deputies, and others.

“I understand that the recommended increase for Council members is a huge leap, and the community is understandably alarmed. The public should hold their elected officials accountable for the legislative decisions made, and I appreciate my constituents reaching out to me to share both support and concern,” Say said. “I have shared that I am in support of a salary increase, and, as the Council has a two-term limit, I believe this increase will help to make the position more viable for future candidates. I would not want to put new members in the situation of voting on bringing their own salaries up to a level equitable to their administrative counterparts, as we are facing now.”

In addition, Say said he supports “Chair Waters leadership and decisions on which measures to refer to Committee or hear on the Council floor,” and that he also backed Waters and Kia‘aina in their introduction of Bill 33 and Resolution 109, which “emphasize the full-time nature of the Council members’ role, which I feel aligns with the time and focus that this position requires in order to fully address and respond to our residents’ needs.”

Council member Augie Tulba, representing District 9, which covers Waipahu, Iroquois Point, West Loch, Ewa Villages and portions of Ewa Beach, expressed his continued opposition to the roughly 64% Council salary increase.

“I oppose the raises because I see it as taxpayer money that should be going to improve city services, like fixing our parks, our roads and our sewers, supporting our police and emergency services and filling thousands of vacant city positions,” Tulba said via email. “If Council members are going to get a raise, let’s have the public weigh in about their increased property taxes going towards those raises. At the end of the day, I don’t want the public to perceive that we are just making it easier to be a nicely compensated career politician.”

Tulba said the full Council likely will not vote on its own over the pending pay raises.

“Unfortunately, I’m having a hard time getting support to put the issue regarding the raises up for discussion, and it’s disappointing,” he said.

Moreover, Tulba said he’s been unable to place legislation on future Council agendas, including Wednesday’s meeting, that he and Council member Andria Tupola introduced April 27. Instead, Resolution 82, which requests a formal rejection of Council salary hikes, and Resolution 81, which rejects the city’s entire salary schedule for fiscal year 2024, remain idle.

“I can’t even get five signatures to get my salary-­related resolutions on the agenda so the public can testify,” Tulba added.

The Council members who had not responded to the Star-Advertiser’s request for comment are Tupola, Waters, Matt Weyer, Tyler Dos Santos-­Tam, Radiant Cordero and Val Okimoto.

In response to questions over higher city salaries, the Blangiardi administration offered the mayor’s prior written statements — some given months before the Salary Commission’s city salary schedule adoption in April — which were in support of salary increases that had not occurred since July 2019, due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As adopted under the city’s new salary schedule, the mayor’s annual pay would rise to $209,856 from its current $186,432. The annual salary for the managing director’s position would increase to $200,712 from the current pay of $178,320.

“The Mayor and the Managing Director supported (and continue to support) fair increases for City appointed leadership and have been transparent in their positions,” Ian Scheuring, the mayor’s deputy communications director, said via email. “The Mayor and Managing Director have also addressed the topic on two occasions at Town Halls, supporting fair increases in salaries and urging community members to get fully informed on the complexity of the salary issue and process.”

When asked whether there has been any formal communications between the mayor and the Council in support of city salary increases, Scheuring said, “To date, the Mayor has not communicated formally with Council on the salary issue, although he reserves the right to do so if the occasion presents itself at a future Council meeting.”