Three Honolulu City Council members had to formally reject their over 64% pay hikes in writing prior to the start of the new fiscal year, which began July 1.

In the days leading up to the controversial start of the salary increases for Hono­lulu’s top elected and appointed officials, Council members Augie Tulba, Andria Tupola and Radiant Cordero were each required to submit a memorandum to the city stating their rejection to the expected $44,400 pay bump — to $113,304 from $68,904.

“They do so through a memo submitted to my office voluntarily reducing their salary,” Kenny Amazaki, the city’s administrative services officer, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser via email. “I have asked them to specifically state the amount they want their salary at in their memos.”

To that end, Cordero submitted her memo on June 19, Tulba on June 26 and Tupola on June 30 — all three requesting to keep their annual Council salaries unchanged.

And in that memo, Amazaki noted Council members acknowledged that any benefits that use salary in calculating the benefit or contribution — for such things as a retirement plan from Hawaii’s Employees’ Retirement System — will be affected by the reduction in pay.

For her part, Tupola’s rejection memo states: “It would be inconsistent for me to accept a raise given my strong public opinion against salary increases. Furthermore, I have co- sponsored legislation to unanimously reject raises for elected and appointed City officials, and I remain committed and accountable to my own proposals.

“Therefore, please ensure that I will maintain my current salary of $68,904 on July 1, 2023,” Tupola’s memo reads. “I understand that any benefits which use salary in calculating the benefit or contribution (including, but not limited to Social Security, retirement and deferred compensation) will be affected by the reduction to my pay. I also understand that any cancellation of this request must be received in writing by the Administrative Services Officer at least 20 calendar days prior to the effective date of cancellation.”

Amazaki confirmed the three Council members do not have to resubmit those memos prior to the start of the 2025 fiscal year to prevent a pay jump to $113,304 or to any future higher salary while serving on the panel.

“Because they have voluntarily reduced their salary, it will stay at the lower amount until they cancel their request in writing,” he said.

If all nine Council members had taken the adopted pay raises, Amazaki said the total cost for Council salaries would be over $1.02 million, which includes the salary adjustment.

“This is $401,520 over last year’s allotment for the budget,” he said.

However, to reflect the trio’s pay hike rejection, the total cost for Council salaries totals $896,520, a $268,320 increase over last fiscal year, he said.

In addition, Tulba, Tupola and Cordero will not pay more in income taxes as a result of the overall 64% pay raise.“They are only responsible for taxes on the amount they are paid,” Amazaki said. “Calculations will be based on $68,904.”

Besides the Council members themselves, more pay to those who assist the nine-member panel also occurred July 1.

“There are 71 positions for City Council staff, which was budgeted at $5,488,156 in Bill 10,” said Amazaki. “This is an increase of $211,083 over last year.”

The Council budget includes the salaries of all Council employees and offers a 4% salary adjustment for all 71 exempt employees. That salary adjustment, according to Amazaki, is $236,211 for the new fiscal year.

Other perks the Council receives — including a car allowance — remain the same. “Council members are allotted a car allowance of $350 per month,” Amazaki said.

Likewise, each of the nine Council districts has an “annual contingency allowance” of $25,000, used only for official city business, he said.

The six other Council members — including Chair Tommy Waters, whose pay jumped to $123,288 from $76,968 — were not alone in their desires for higher salaries: Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the city’s top appointed executives now see a nearly 12.6% pay bump.

As adopted, the mayor’s annual pay is $209,856 from its former $186,432, while the annual salary for the managing director’s position increases to $200,712 from the former $178,320.

“The aggregate total dollar amount of the pay raises for the mayor, department heads and deputy directors, per the salary table recommended by the Salary Commission, is about $1 million,” Ian Scheuring, the mayor’s deputy communications director, said.

Pay for directors increased by approximately $20,100, while the pay for deputy directors rose about $20,000, he said.

“Departments with a director and a deputy will see salary costs rise by about $41,000,” Scheuring added.

Moreover, he noted the mayor does not receive any additional financial perks outside of his compensation.

“He does not — and neither do the managing director, deputy managing director or any of the department directors or deputies — receive a vehicle or other financial stipend,” Scheuring said. “Though the mayor does have the use of a city vehicle through the city’s motorpool program managed by the Department of Facilities Maintenance.”

The mayor does not have a driver or security staff, either, he added.

Meanwhile, Scheuring asserted the overall salary increases for the city’s executive were not included in the city’s latest $3.41 billion operating budget.

“Given the relatively manageable dollar amounts for each department, the city’s Department of Budget and Fiscal Services works with individual departments to incur cost savings to cover the difference, usually in the form of savings from budgeted-for positions not currently filled,” he said.

Nola Miyasaki, the city’s Department of Human Resources director, previously told the Star-Advertiser that the Salary Commission had not raised pay for city department heads and top elected officials for the past three years.

Prior to the July 1 pay hikes, Miyasaki said most of the city’s 21 department directors earned an average annual salary of $166,560.