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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-28 Minutes Salary Commission Salary Commission County Council Room Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401 Hilo, Hawai'i April 28, 2014 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Salary Commission, County of Hawai'i, was called (Item 1): to order at 10:00 a.m. by Chair Pudding Lassiter on Monday, April 28, 2014, at the County Council Room, Hawaii County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401, Hilo, Hawaii. ROLL CALL Present: Ms. Pudding Lassiter, Chair Ms. Marcella L. Stroh, Vice-Chair Mr. Michael B. Sumja, Second Vice-Chair Mr. Brian J. De Lima, Member Mr. Melvin S. Morimoto, Member Absent: Mr. George J. Handgis, Member Also Present: Ms. Sharon Toriano, Director, HR Department Mr. Nicholas Hermes, Deputy Director, HR Department Ms. Molly Stebbins, Deputy Corporation Counsel, Ofc. of the Corp. Counsel Ms. Jennifer Sakamoto, HR Manager II, HR Department Ms. Jamie Martines, Professional Trainee II, HR Department Ms. Stacie Iwasaki, HR Assistant, HR Department Ms. Glynis Yamada, Secretary-Reporter, HR Department ADDENDUM TO The Chair directed the Commission to proceed to the next order of business, AGENDA Addendum to Agenda. (Item 2): (There was none.) STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Commission to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE PUBLIC Statements from the Public. (Item 3): MARTIN WARREN: The Chair call on Mr. Martin Warren who made the following statement: Mr. Warren stated that he's here to comment on stories written in the local newspaper on April 18 concerning the proposed increases for particular people in County government. He will be using facts from the "East Hawai'i Salary Commission April 28, 2014 Fact Sheet" published last September concerning employers and population count: The top 27 employers of this County employ 20,622 people;three of the 27 employers are government who employ 12,021 people—roughly a quarter more than in the private sector. He stated that the money used to pay government come from people working in the private sector through property taxes, other taxes, and fees. The average income of working people in East Hawai'i is $20,000 a year. According to the April 18 newspaper, there is a proposal to raise the average income for the County Council up to $52,000 a year—about$1,000 a week. There is also a proposal to raise the Managing Director to $110,000 and the Deputy Managing Director to $104,000 a year. The newspaper stated that the salaries of subordinates and comparable counties will affect your decision. Though a vast island, it's not a very wealthy island, especially compared to Honolulu or Maui County. Government generates no wealth—it's the people working in the private sector that generates wealth. We cannot afford to pay for this. We're asking you to be limited in what the County employees are awarded because he doesn't think we're getting our monies worth. If you take a look at the condition of the roads on the Big Island—more money is spent on parks than roads—what good is to it have a park if someone, while driving to the park, is killed on a substandard road. What little money there is in the County, it should be allocated to other areas and less to salaries because we can't afford it. APPROVAL OF The Chair directed the Commission to proceed to the next order of MINUTES OF business, Approval of Minutes. FEBRUARY 26, 2014 (Item 4): Motion to Approve: Mr. Sumja moved that the minutes of February 26, 2014, be approved. The motion was seconded by Ms. Stroh. Page 2 Salary Commission April 28, 2014 The roll call vote to approve the Minutes of February 26, 2014, was as follows: AYES: Commission Members De Lima, Morimoto, Stroh, Sumja, and Chair Lassiter—5. NOES: None. ABSENT: Commission Member Handgis— 1. EXCUSED: None. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Commission to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS Communications. (Item 5): A) COMMUNICATION NO. 14-01, DATED MARCH 12, 2014, FROM THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION REQUESTING FEEDBACK IN DETERMINING WHAT CHANGES, IF ANY, THE SALARY COMMISSION CAN IMPLEMENT TO ACCOMPLISH THE COUNTY'S POLICY TO PROMOTE ECONOMY, EFFICIENCY, AND IMPROVE SERVICE IN THE TRANSACTION OF THE PUBLIC BUSINESS IN THE LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE BRANCHES Motion to Close Mr. De Lima moved to file Communication 14-01. The motion was File: seconded by Mr. Sumja. Mr. De Lima stated that if anyone wishes to submit their opinion to the Cost of Government Commission, they can do so individually. The roll call vote, was as follows: AYES: Commission Members De Lima, Morimoto, Stroh, Sumja, and Chair Lassiter—5. NOES: None. ABSENT: Commission Member Handgis— 1. EXCUSED: None. Page 3 Salary Commission April 28, 2014 NEW BUSINESS The Chair directed the Commission to proceed to the next order of business, (Item 6): New Business. (There was none.) UNFINISHED The Chair directed the Commission to proceed to the next order of business, BUSINESS Unfinished Business. (Item 7): A) REVIEW OF EXISTING COMPENSATION PLAN TO INCLUDE CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE DECISION-MAKING ON PROPOSALS FOR ADJUSTMENTS TO CURRENT SALARIES OF EXECUTIVES AND ELECTED OFFICIALS; AND DISCUSSION, DELIBERATION, AND DECISION-MAKING REGARDING THE INVESTIGATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE'S FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE CURRENT COMPENSATION PLAN AND PROPOSALS FOR ADJUSTMENTS TO THE SALARIES OF EXECUTIVES AND ELECTED OFFICIALS Motion to Amend the Ms. Stroh made a motion to defer the salaries of the Mayor, Managing Director, Sub-Committee's Deputy Managing Director, Council Chair, and Council Members; and to Report of March 19, approve the remaining salaries contained in their report of March 19, 2014 (SEE 2014 and to Approve ATT. A)(Information Technology Director, $99,000; Parks and Recreation the Amended Report: Director, $99,000; Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation, $94,284; Liquor Control Director, $99,000; Research and Development Director, $99,000; Deputy Director of Research and Development, 94,284; County Clerk, $99,000; Deputy County Clerk, $94,284; and Legislative Auditor, $99,000). Seconded by Mr. De Lima. Mr. De Lima said that the adjustments for the directors were very small with minimal adjustments for the department heads. The Parks and Recreation Department is one of the largest departments and the adjustments made are in line, very minimal, and that they had taken into consideration the pay of the subordinates. Mr. De Lima stated his support of the amendment to not address the issue of the Mayor, Managing Director, and the County Council Members. He read an article this morning in "Honolulu Civil Beat"(SEE ATT. B). It spoke about how salary commissions in the State of Hawai'i have not made adjustments to elected officials salaries over a period of time and how this has created inequities—and they compared it to other jurisdictions similar in size. Mr. De Lima commented that in light of Mr. Kamelamela's previous testimony regarding the attorneys, we should not only take a look at this issue but take a Page 4 Salary Commission April 28, 2014 look at the issue of executives and whether or not we should make some immediate adjustments to those salaries. In light of the fact that putting off adjustments creates more inequities because, in effect, you're putting off things that should have been done a long time ago. Mr. De Lima said that he would like the Sub-Committee to re-visit those matters along the issue of the attorneys and make it more of a consolidated approach. He urged everyone to review the "Honolulu Civil Beat" article. Ms. Stebbins clarified the motion on the table made by Mr. De Lima and seconded by Ms. Stroh—to adopt those changes reflected on the Sub- Committee's Report of March 19,that would be effective immediately,which were for the Director of Information Technology, Parks and Recreation, Liquor Control, Research and Development, County Clerk, and Legislative Auditor, as well as the Deputies of Parks and Recreation, Research and Development, and County Clerk. Mr. De Lima clarified that the salaries would be effective on July 1. The roll call vote, was as follows: AYES: Commission Members De Lima, Morimoto, Stroh, Sumja, and Chair Lassiter–5. NOES: None. ABSENT: Commission Member Handgis– 1. EXCUSED: None. Mr. De Lima asked Chair Lassiter that the Salary Commission instruct the Sub- Committee to meet to address issues regarding those matters that have been separated out as well as the issue of the deputy salaries of the Corporation Counsel and the Prosecuting Attorney. We do not control the deputy salaries, but would need to have an adjustment in the salary of the Corporation Counsel or the Prosecuting Attorney in order to effectuate any increase. Chair Lassiter approved his request and asked Mr. De Lima when the Sub- Committee would meet. Mr. De Lima replied within the next 30 days. Page 5 Salary Commission April 28, 2014 SCHEDULE NEXT The Chair directed the Commission to proceed to the next order of business, MEETING DATE Schedule Next Meeting Date. (Item 8): The Salary Commission will convene on Tuesday,June 10, at 10:00 a.m., in the County Council Room. ANNOUNCE- The Chair directed the Commission to proceed to the next order of business, MENT Announcements. (Item 9): (There was none.) ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, at 10:17 a.m., Chair Lassiter declared the meeting (Item 10): adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Ainti) Glynis Yamada Secretary-Reporter APPROVED: t,vti I VLS Pudding Lassiter Chair Page 6 PUBLIC STATEMENT REGISTRATION FORM SALARY COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HILO, HAWAII Date: , Ll (Please print clearly) Support tY Oppose Comment Please list the item(s)you will be speaking on: Communication No. OR ' O C trq. kV'cve.tot5 Subject/Topic: ALA f Name: 17,4 2{I aj,yA22L7J Representing: x pJ t a- S (Please indicate whether Self or Organization) ***For official use only: Speaker No. t SALARY COMMISSION Sub-Committee Meeting March 19, 2014/Time: 9:00 AM Attendees: Brian Delima, Marcella Stroh, &Michael Sumja Salaries Adjustments being proposed: Mayor: $130,818 *Effective 12/5/2016 with the new incoming Mayor. Managing Director: $110,244* Deputy Managing Director: $104,736* *Effective 12/5/2016 *Adjustments as time progresses with the new Mayor. **Effective date for the positions below should be: July 1, 2014 Information Technology Director $99,000 Parks& Recreation Director $99,000 Deputy Parks & Recreation Director $ 94,284 Liquor Control Director $99,000 Research & Development Director $99,000 Deputy Research & Development Director $94,284 County Clerk $99,000 Deputy County Clerk $94,284 Legislative Auditor $99,000 **Effective date for the positions below should be: Dec. 1,2014,after the new election. Council Chair $58,000 ** Council Member $52,000 ** Total Adjustments: $56,476 Including the Mayor, Managing Director& Dep. Managing Director as of 12/5/2016: $90,178 Prepared by: Marcella Stroh ATT. A Register Now! i c Search Civil Beat... Search • i Best Overall News Site HONOLULU Thr,Maey y19th, in a row CIVIL_ BEAT. _ i----1 Monday,May 19th,2014Follow il'tmncTPad Today The Beat Honolulu Hawaii Education Energy&Environment Development DC808 Fact Checks Special Reports 3 Tweet 9 U ANNOUNCEMENTS Honolulu Officials' Salaries Lag Behind Counterparts in Comparable Announcing . r our newest Cities `,1, subscriber to.0 i ' ,, "perk"— By Sophie Cocke 04/28/2014 ‘1:11 ' Hawaii Perks! laik F � Sign Up Now 44,0 About the Author I, _ * ! L , E.," 1 Sophie Cocke a y � ( 1prttr li! i ,ri3ctr', Sophie Cocke -�p1n -i it r 1 _ 6 ''' i - Sophie Cocke t ' J . � r' k # z it • t, �,,,�. '0,, '� Thank you for your interest in Honolulu Civil 1€ ?ns --"---• I e ° m! Beat!We are subscriber-supported and --=- ° a,.„e, 4b64 -�= L. it$ � your subscription allows us to provide ,.,„„„ = quality,in-depth investigative reporting. Not a subscriber yet?Help us keep telling the stories that impact your community, sign up herel -Your Team At Civil Beat e l s°r ekg Honolulu City Council Meeting, Dec. 11, 2013. Honolulu's Salary Commission is recommending raises of 8 percent for many of the city's top officials–a rate that's almost five times the annual inflation rate. That might seem like a steep increase, but for many of the positions—such as the police and fire chiefs and Honolulu City Council members—salaries would still lag far behind those of their counterparts in mainland cities Create an account or Log In to see w hat your friends are doing. of comparable size. It's Your Money:Student Trips,State In San Francisco,where the cost of living is comparable to Honolulu,the chief of the Fire Department earns a base != Pays$30K salary of$301,561. Honolulu's fire chief currently makes about half of that. 7 people recommend this. Similar) San Francisco's topcopearns$305,594. Honolulu'spolice chief earns$151,632. Man FOCUS:Meet Vladmit Berzansky,The Similarly, Man Without a Home 18 people recommend this. It isn't just a question of San Francisco being a wealthy city. Even in Detroit—a city of about 700,000 people that filed for bankruptcy in 2013—the police chief earns nearly$100,000 more than his Honolulu counterpart. Withholding Police Disciplinary Records Will Cost Honolulu$43,000 61 people recommend this. The salaries are independent of other compensation—such as pensions,other benefits and perks—which can vary greatly between cities, but Honolulu's Salary Commission doesn't factor such things into its recommendations. The commission must still give final approval to the proposed raises later this month, before sending them to the Facebook social plugin City Council for consideration.The salary increases, if approved,would also apply to the mayor and his managing directors,department heads,the prosecuting attorney and his deputies,the medical examiner and the Royal ©` ' •• r u Hawaiian band director. Sara Buehler,the commission's chair, said numerous factors went into determining the new salary recommendation,including the cost of living on Oahu, inflation,the position's scope of responsibilities, and ATT. B salaries on the neighbor islands and in similar mainland cities. "I a}nderstand the sticker shock of 8 percent,"Buehler said."At the same time we are mandated to pay salaries commensurate with(the work)." The commission is aware that the proposed salaries still fall below—and sometimes very far below—those of similar cities,she said, but she noted that larger raises probably wouldn't be politically palatable. j'<tdd-r inic Salary for s'°i'sl j'mc \Vorli When Councilman Ron Menor served as a state senator and representative he would have seven to eight months off each year when the Legislature wasn't in session. This allowed him to supplement his salary through his law practice. But since being elected to the City Council,he says he's been too busy to practice law. "I served for many years in the state Legislature,and I can tell you that the responsibilities that a City Council member has to deal with are far greater than the responsibilities that I had to carry on as a state legislator,"he said."This really is a full-time job.We have heavy responsibilities, not just because our districts are much larger, but we deal with the issues people are concemed about on a daily basis." Menor, and other council members interviewed by Civil Beat,agree that they juggle a full-time workload.The City Council meets throughout the year,unlike the Legislature. However,technically it's a part-time position,according to the ordinance that created the City Council—and council members are paid accordingly. Their annual salary is$52,446,about$3,000 less than state lawmakers.The Salary Commission has suggested boosting this by 8 percent to$56,642. But this still pales in comparison to other cities. In San Francisco,council members earn nearly double, about $105,000 a year. In Seattle they earn$119,876. In San Jose,council members earn$81,000.That's the equivalent of earning$90,000 in Honolulu, according to CNN's cost of living calculator. Buehler said that part of the reason why Honolulu City Council members'salaries are so low, in addition to the part-time status, is that the City Council votes down their own raises year after year—out of fear that there would be political repercussions. The salary commission is able to look at salaries objectively,she said, but council members"are very aware of the fact that if they approve a raise for themselves,they might not get elected next time." City Council members haven't received a raise in five years. Those first two years,the Salary Commission didn't recommend increases because of the poor economy,said Buehler. In rejecting their raises, City Council members are effectively taking salary cuts every year because their earnings aren't keeping up with inflation. The relatively low salaries do save taxpayers money and the lack of raises prevents council members from getting any flack for boosting their own pay, but there are drawbacks. Such low-level salaries likely dissuade some top talent from running for the City Council,which wields power over important issues facing the island. Low salaries also encourage council members to take on second jobs to get by in one of the most expensive cities in the nation. Council Chair Ernie Martin has a law practice,for instance, and Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi helps run her family's real estate business. "I can't afford to live on this salary,"said Kobayashi,who laughed about her staff earning more than she does. Even on Maui and Kauai, council members are better paid even though they have a much smaller constituency. On Maui the pay is$76,475 and on Kauai council members earn$56,781. Many residents of the islands work two or three jobs to get by, but when it comes to the City Council, Councilman Joey Manahan noted, it can create conflicts of interest. "If you did have a second job,that could conflict with some of the issues that could affect, potentially,the decisions that are made at the City Council level,"he said. Cities like San Diego prohibit council members from taking any job that would conflict with their elected duties. Despite their relatively low pay, Honolulu City Council members are reluctant to go along with the 8 percent salary hike recommendation—even though it could be looked at as compensating for a half-decade with no increase. Kobayashi and Menor said they might consider 4 percent. "Somehow it is hard to accept a pay raise when we are trying to find money for so many things,"said Kobayashi, who chairs the Council's Budget Committee. Menor agreed. "My concern is based on the fact that the city is still facing budgetary constraints in terms of the difficult times we are having in finding money for important programs and services,"he said. Honolulu's City Council is not alone in repeatedly rejecting its own pay raises. San Diego's salary commission finally got fed up this year after its City Council rejected a proposed raise for 10 consecutive years. During that time,the cost of living has increased 27 percent,as the commission noted in a February 2014 report. So instead of recommending that San Diego City Council salaries increase from$75,386 to$105,310 this year, the commission said it wasn't going to bother. The"salary setting commission believes that any recommended pay increase at this time would simply be politicized by the City Council and would take the focus away from the real dysfunction here,which is the fact that Council members vote on their own pay,a gross conflict of interest,"the commission wrote. Instead, San Diego's commission recommended a charter amendment that would prohibit council members from having any say in their own salaries. Kirk Caldwell is also up for an 8 percent raise this year, which would boost the mayor's salary to$153,239. But he too has rejected a pay increase. He currently earns$129,607 because he rejected a prior raise and voluntarily reduced his own salary by about$12,000. But in addition to his mayoral salary, Caldwell is paid between$200,000 and$299,999 as a director of Territorial Savings Bank, according to the financial disclosure form that he filed with the city. He also collects a state pension of between$10,000 and$24,999 a year and his wife, Donna Tanoue, earns between$700,000 and $799,999 as Vice Chair of Bank of Hawaii. Mayoral salaries for similar cities varied widely, ranging from a low of about$100,000 in San Diego to a high of $271,000 in San Francisco. Earning More Than the Boss Chris Takashige directs one of the city's most important agencies,the Department of Design and Construction. He's responsible for overseeing the planning,design and construction of the city's capital improvement projects, such as roads, parks and wastewater systems. Takashige, along with other city department heads,earns$121,896. However,six of his staff earn more than him,with one employee eaming as much as$139,736. "It's an awkward situation,"said Buehler, of having your staff earn more than you. The salary commission has proposed boosting the salaries of directors and deputy directors of city departments by 8 percent, in part,to help reestablish the salary hierarchy.Ten other departments have employees who also earn more than their directors and deputy directors. Buehler said the proposed hikes are also aimed at making the positions more competitive with the private sector where people can earn more. "We have a situation where we need to consider many different factors,"she said. "One is that we want to pay our top department heads in city salaries that will lure them away from the private sector." There are significant perks to city employment, however. Fringe benefits can amount to an additional 60 percent of an employee's salary, including 21 vacation days and 21 sick days a year,health coverage and pension benefits. The commission suggested more moderate increases for a few of the positions, including a 2 percent raise for the Royal Hawaiian Band director and medical examiner.The medical examiner's salary was bumped up from $200,000 to$250,000 last year after being vacant for four years. The City Council has discretion over which proposed salary increases it approves.Any salary hike would go into effect in July.You can read the full list of proposed salaries here. Civil Beat compared the salaries of Honolulu's mayor, City Council members, police and fire chiefs and medical examiner with those of San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, San Jose and Detroit.A few of the salaries weren't comparable or were not available, and so aren't included in the chart. San Francisco's salaries are for the 2013 fiscal year. The figures are for base salaries and do not include other compensation. The salaries for Honolulu are what employees are currently being paid and do not include proposed raises. The mayor's salary, however, is the salary associated with that position—Caldwell has taken a voluntary pay cut. Position H Honolulu ,j San Francisco �= Seattle Fr,San Jose r San Diego jam;,Detroit Mayor $141,888 $270,910 $180,000 $105,000 $100,464 $142,703 ;City Council $52,446 $105,283 $119,876 $81,000 $75,386 $73,000 Police Chief $151,632 $304,594 $199,041 $230,651 $176,192 $250,000 Fire Chief $147,630 $301,561 $201,377 $190,000 $165,000 N/A ;Medical Examiner $250,008 $274,611 $230,289 $166,306 N/A N/A +j DISCUSSION:Should Honolulu pay its council members a comparable salary to similar cities?Or is living in Honolulu on the current salary enough of a reward? 3 Tweet 9 _, _ , ,-=--, 1 Discu scion