2025-09-24 Salary Commission Minutes

Home

Salary Commission September 24, 2025 MR. NELSON: So, just say “In 2024, we deferred salary adjustments”— MS. NAMAHOE: Okay, I’m going to quibble on this one, then. If we’re not going to have 2 and 3, then I’d rather it just say, “After July 2024 pay increase”—since that was the last increase. We’re not going to talk about the January 2024 inflationary adjustment—I’d rather not use the word “adjustment” because the last pay differential was a pay increase of 5%. CHR. PAVAO: Your thoughts in what would be good semantics? MR. NELSON: So, what are you changing it to? MS. NAMAHOE: So, the word “adjustment” plural— MR. NELSON: Yeah. MS. NAMAHOE: —is because we’ve taken out 2 and 3, we know that we did an inflationary adjustment in January of 2024, and a pay increase July 2024. But for the purposes of not clarifying that at all, the very last thing we did was a pay increase, effective plan year/calendar year or County fiscal year 2024. So, I—the words “2024 adjustments” shows a collective—I use that same word again—that I would like it to just be what’s the last thing we did—we did after the 5% pay increase effective July 2024. Just keep it clear that was the last thing we did. CHR. PAVAO: Mm. Yeah, so you could say that, I guess, “After its 2024 5% pay increase”— MS. NAMAHOE: Right—‘cause that’s what we did. CHR. PAVAO: —“the County of Hawaiʻi—this Commission deferred further salary”—yeah, I guess you could say that’s fine. That’s a public record. We didn’t make any increases since then. MS. NAMAHOE: And the correction in January is in the past. CHR. PAVAO: Yeah. MS. NAMAHOE: And that was in inflationary adjustment anyway. CHR. PAVAO: And that was playing catch-up, too, yeah. MS. NAMAHOE: Which is why I don’t want the word “adjustment” there. More than anything, I’d rather this say, “pay increase effective July 2024.” CHR. PAVAO: Yeah. Page 18