All nine members of the Honolulu City Council appear to be unified on one issue: to formally reject the city Salary Commission’s proposed 3% salary increase granted to their respective Council seats last month.

With little comment from the public March 19, the Salary Commission — appointed by the Council and mayor — recommended a 3% or greater pay boost for the mayor, managing director, the Council and other elected and appointed, high-level city officials.

The proposed pay hikes come less than a year after the City Council received a controversial 64% salary increase and the Honolulu mayor’s pay jumped nearly 12.6%.

In 2023, eight members of the Council were awarded a $44,400 pay bump to $113,304, up from $68,904. Three members rejected the raise.

If the latest recommendation is adopted, the pay would increase to $116,712.

The Council chair’s post — which in 2023 saw a 60% pay bump, to $123,292 annually, up from $76,968 — is now proposed to have its pay boosted to $126,712.

Compensation for all city workers will be included in the mayor’s proposed $3.63 billion operating budget, a 6.4% increase over the city’s current $3.41 billion spending plan.

But in response to questions from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the full Council confirmed that it will not accept the commission’s recommendations for fiscal year 2025, to be presented on April 23, and, if approved, would take effect July 1.

“I will be giving it back, with no disrespect to the community members that have encouraged me to keep it, because I do not want to spend the rest of our budget session talking about how much Council members should be paid,” Council member Matt Weyer told the Star-Advertiser via email. “I think it’s weird that we are the only county that allows Council members to vote on their own pay, and best practice would be to leave the decision up to our community and the Salary Commission.”

Others, like Council member Andria Tupola, agreed. “I already rejected the 64% increase, and this would be no different,” she said via email.

In 2023, Tupola — along with Council members Radiant Cordero and Augie Tulba — formally nixed their 64% pay raises, keeping their Council compensation set at $68,904.

Via email, Cordero said of the new pay bump, “I will not accept it.”

Via text message, Tulba confirmed he’d retain his current Council salary. “I’m not losing anything, I’m still making $68,000.”

Vice Chair Esther Kia‘aina, along with Council members Calvin Say and Val Okimoto, also stated they would not accept the new proposed pay hikes either. And Council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam seemed ready to do the same.

“I hope that we’ll come to a unanimous decision as a body,” he said via email, “and I’ll support Council leadership in doing so.”

Council Chair Tommy Waters — who previously told the Star-Advertiser he’d give back any approved raise granted to his elected post — praised the all-volunteer Salary Commission’s work.

“Even in the face of significant pushback from those, who, on the surface, disagree with their recommendations, the Salary Commission has continued to follow their Charter duties and do its best to attract and maintain the best leaders for our city,” he said.

But two Council members say they want much larger changes when it comes to the compensation of high-level city employees.

To that end, Tulba and Tupola have introduced multiple resolutions to initiate voter-approved amendments to the City Charter. Tulba proposes the following changes to the City Charter:

>> Resolution 85: To limit the Salary Commission’s ability to increase salaries by more than 10% a year.

>> Resolution 86: To require the Council to hold a public hearing on any resolution issued by the Salary Commission proposing to alter the salaries of city officials.

>> Resolution 87: To allow the Council to reject all or a portion of the salary recommendations of the city’s Salary Commission by a simple majority vote, or 50% plus one. Currently, the nine-­member Council must achieve a three-quarters vote — or seven members of that body — to jettison in whole or in part the city’s next salary schedule.

“Last year, taxpayers were robbed of the opportunity to voice their opposition to the 64% raise that was awarded to City Council members and 13% given to city leadership,” said Tulba in a written statement. “These resolutions incorporate the feedback from the community by limiting the authority of the Salary Commission and ensuring that the City Council will hold a fair, public hearing on any proposal that includes raises for themselves or the administration.

“Transparency is essential to maintaining public trust,” he said. “We must have a mechanism to hold the Salary Commission, Council members and city officials accountable.”

Tupola — who co-signed her support on Resolutions 86 and 87 — has introduced her own proposed charter amendment.

Resolution 82, if adopted by voters, would place a 5% cap on any Salary Commission-recommended pay boosts. That resolution would also see the Salary Commission convene biennially “in every even-numbered year,” and shall establish salaries and salary schedules “for the following two fiscal years” no later than the first day of May.

“I introduced Resolution 82 because the one-time 64% salary increase last year was outrageous to the public,” Tupola said. “People were writing letters to the editor, neighborhood boards stood opposed, constituents were emailing and calling our office, and there was testimony in opposition at salary commission meetings and rallies to voice disapproval.”

She added, “There was no consideration for a lower percentage over time, no full Council hearings on our proposal to reject the raises, and no recourse for the public.

“I believe this proposal is fair to give the Salary Commission guidance and allow for greater public input and incorporation into the city budget,” she said.

As far as the requested 5% cap on city salaries, Tupola said that limit “should never be reached or surpassed in one annual proposal for any position.”

“An average pay raise is 3%, and for some of the city positions that haven’t been updated for decades, a little more than 3% may be suggested by the commission,” she added.

She also noted Waters “proposed an amendment to prevent any raises for Council members from being applied to the current term in which they are sitting.

“I think that’s also a good step forward, so I will incorporate that into my proposal,” she said. “I hope that will suffice to schedule a hearing.”

Waters said he also has ideas over city salaries.

“I’ll likely be looking to introduce a number of proposals as well, but I don’t know that I am sold on any one approach just yet, and will simply be submitting my proposals for consideration as part of the pool of different options,” he said. “In this case, I think the larger discussion around multiple proposals will really be critical in helping us to flush out these ideas.”

“I will say that a larger goal of mine is maintaining a long-term view of the impacts of the decisions we make today, and safeguarding any reactionary decisions we may be tempted to make under the urgency or optics of any one particular year,” he added.

If passed by the Council and approved by the mayor, ballot questions over proposed charter amendments will be placed on the 2024 general election ballot for voter consideration.

Five Council seats — now occupied by first-term members Cordero, Kia‘aina, Say, Tulba and Tupola — are on the ballot this year. In February, first-term Mayor Rick Blangiardi launched his 2024 reelection bid as well.

Meanwhile, the Mayor’s Office says it will oppose the latest city pay raises, including the mayor’s proposed 3% salary hike. The mayor’s pay increased in 2023 to $209,856 from $186,432, and the latest proposal would further increase his pay to $216,151 a year, if adopted.

By comparison, the Hawaii governor’s annual salary is over $165,000.