2023-08-04 Salary Commission Minutes

Home

Salary Commission August 4, 2023 The only issue before this Commission is either increase or decrease—one or the other. Ten percent, by charter—if there's a 10 percent increase or a 10 percent decrease, a two-thirds vote of the entire membership that's six of you—have to agree on any outcome. Whether you do it by position, with a number, or a percentage there is no merit -based approach allowed nor is that your purview under the charter. So, that is not a conversation this Commission should be having. The remedy, if one believes the appointing authority fire commission, police commission, merit appeals board the mayor, for example, are community that elects our elected officials the mayor and the prosecutor's office is removal. So, if the community and/or the mayor, and/or the appointing authorities does not believe he or she is doing a good jobremoval is the remedy as opposed to a merit -based approach for salary purposes. So, I just want to clarify, if I wasn't clear last time that is not up for consideration and discussion by this Commission, based on the charter that you are not afforded that responsibility or duty. Just to clarify. Does that make sense? ACTING CHR FARAHL I understand that. MS. GREENBAUM: Absolutely. MR. PATEL: Sorry—Danny Patel here. Just real quick just to add onto that. Three options, right: Increase, status quo, or decrease. And then, to kind of follow-up what I've been hearing from everyone with Commissioner Namahoe's comment about an anchor point to, kind of, start the conversation. Just for your reference, the way it's been approached in the past has been if the chair, vice- chair—whoever it is wanted to come up with some proposal what they thought themselves, just to kick off the conversation, then the discussion about all the other points—Vice-Chair Farahi brings up and all the other Commissioners—can be had systematically. And in that way, it's provided for forward progress. But just a starting off point. And then, as Commissioner Namahoe pointed out, Communication 23-12 that you got in today's packet—those are the most updated numbers as far as the other juris public jurisdictions in the State (SEE ATT. A, COMM. NO. 23-12). And then, in the previous meetings, you did get the percentage increases for all the bargaining units, particularly, when you're looking at salaries for department heads and their deputies (SEE ATT. B, COMM. NO. 23-05; AND ATT. C, COMM. NO. 23-09). Aside from fire and police, obviously, you're looking at BU13 would be the comparable. So, taking that into consideration with all the information you've got to-dateI think at the very, very first meeting you also got some salary data from the Hawaii Employers Counsel for private sector positions. Any Commissioner is free to, on their own look through the wealth of materials Page 12