The County Council may meet only every other week, but once you’re a council member, it’s a full-time job.
That’s the opinion of Council Chairman J Yoshimoto, who said a simple trip to the barber on Thursday turned into a question from a constituent about one badly needed county project, and a trip to the market yielded another.
That’s why Yoshimoto, who is term-limited and gives up his council seat at the end of this year, doesn’t think it’s a bad idea for council members to get raises.
“We’re basically council members 24/7,” said Yoshimoto. “Wherever we are, we’re always interacting with the public and you try to make that time for them.”
Yoshimoto, as council chairman, is getting an 11.5 percent raise, bringing his annual salary to $58,008. Other council members will get 8.3 percent raises, bringing their salaries to $52,008.
The raises were finalized Thursday by the county Salary Commission, which unanimously voted to increase top officials salaries retroactive to July 1.
In addition to council raises, the commission also approved a $22,848 raise for Mayor Billy Kenoi, a 20.9 percent raise that brings his salary to $132,000. Kenoi has repeatedly said he doesn’t want a raise, and has vowed to give it to the United Way.
“I’m not taking a dollar of that raise,” Kenoi said last month. “I made that promise, and it’s a promise that I intend to keep.”
Managing Director Wally Lau will get a $15,060 raise to $119,004, and Deputy Managing Director Randy Kurohara will get a $16,008 raise to $115,008.
The raises, on top of a series of raises for other department heads and top staff, are needed to ensure no supervisor in the county makes less than his or her subordinates, said Commissioner Brian De Lima.
“No subordinate is going to be paid more than their supervisor,” De Lima said.
“We’ve worked on this for two years,” added Chairwoman Pudding Lassiter. “The public should recognize that it wasn’t an easy task.”
“Everyone did their due diligence,” said Commissioner Marcella Stroh, who chaired the subcommittee that came up with the recommendations. “I think we were able to make the salaries equitable.”
The raises add about $76,000 to the budget that went into effect July 1. Although it’s not in the budget, Finance Director Nancy Crawford said it’s likely the amount could be absorbed in the budget in an account set aside for compensation adjustment, with no need for a budget amendment.
The subcommittee looked at the county budget, salaries in other counties and whether officials were making less than their subordinates.
Even with the raises, the Hawaii County Council has the lowest paid council members in the state, the subcommittee said.
The Hawaii County charter gives the Salary Commission the responsibility to set salaries of top officials in the county. Coming off almost a decade of no salary adjustments, the commission would be derelict in its duties if it didn’t give them now, commission members said.
De Lima said he respects Kenoi, and it’s up to the mayor how he handles his raise.
“I think he’s a good mayor, and I think he has good judgment and I wouldn’t quarrel with any of his judgments,” De Lima said. “Our responsibility is not to pass judgment with what individuals do with the money they earn.”