Members of the Honolulu Salary Commission are hoping to change the city charter to give themselves wider power for setting the salaries of top officials like the mayor, City Council members and department heads. That change would be subject to voter approval in a charter amendment, or could fall under the purview of a charter commission in 2026.

The commission discussed the change at a Tuesday meeting, including whether council members should be able to reject the commission’s proposed raises and whether the commission should have the power to change salaries multiple times each year. 

Last year, the volunteer commission recommended a controversial 64% raise for council members, from about $69,000 to about $113,000 per year. 

Many residents fumed, and two of the nine council members even proposed rejecting the raises, with a third council member joining their criticisms during the final weeks before the budget was approved.

Pearl City Neighborhood Board Chair Larry Veray called it a “slap in the face to a lot of residents that aren’t getting pay raises and are just barely making it by.” Veray said that smaller raises over the course of several years would likely be more acceptable to residents.

Some commissioners say they agree. But they argue that it’s difficult to implement gradual multiyear salary schedules, per the city charter.

The commission is currently empowered to propose new salary schedules once per year, during the months leading up to approval of the city budget. That proposal goes to council members, who can’t change the proposal but can choose to reject the raises.

Council Chair Tommy Waters argued last year that council members’ ability to vote on their own raises puts them in a politically difficult position.

Over the years, the council did reject raises several times. That led to their salaries falling fall short of their executive branch counterparts, Commissioner Rebecca Soon said Tuesday, eventually resulting in a drastic increase in 2023.

Other County Councils in Hawaii don’t have the option of rejecting proposals from their salary commissions. In Seattle, pay for council members is tied to the cost of living.

Now the commission is considering making itself the sole arbiter of top officials’ compensation.

Some commissioners were uncomfortable with shifting the balance of power. 

“It places a lot of authority on us … We don’t necessarily get a lot of testimony until we make some decisions, and then you hear a lot of it come out,” Commissioner Lila Tom said. 

Commissioner Sarah Guay agreed, saying that she understands the intent of the proposal is to reduce council member involvement.

“But does that then – by putting even more authority on the commission – just further politicize, in some sense, the commission?” she said. 

Other notable changes in the resolution’s current draft include allowing the commission to change salaries more than once per year and to implement a multiyear raise schedule, with the option for future commissions to make changes. 

Raising salaries more than once a year could make the city more nimble in filling positions like the deputy medical examiner, Commission Chair Malia Espinda said. That role has been empty since 2019, despite getting a large pay increase last year from about $273,000 to about $354,000. 

The commission will continue discussing its proposed restructuring over the coming months.

The commission also finalized this year’s salary schedule on Tuesday. Mayor Rick Blangiardi submitted testimony against receiving a raise, but the commission is proposing to raise his position’s pay from about $210,000 to about $216,000. 

Pay for council members would increase from about $113,000 to $117,000. The council chair’s pay would go up from about $123,000 to roughly $127,000.

The commission is scheduled to vote on this year’s raises during their next meeting on April 23 at 1 p.m.