Maui County Salary Commission members questioned whether any salary increases for county department heads, including the police chief, would take away money from other programs, as the commission continues reviewing salaries for county directors and deputies.

At its online meeting Friday, the commission heard testimony from more than a dozen people, most opposing the Maui Police Commission’s unanimous recommendation for a 29 percent increase in pay from $158,851 to $205,000 for Police Chief John Pelletier, who was sworn into office Dec. 15.

“Everybody I have talked to in the community is completely outraged,” said Haiku resident Matthew Nardi. “I think this is completely ridiculous. It’s a slap in the face of Maui County. It’s a punch in the stomach of the line officers. Frankly, somebody this selfish and greedy should resign from this position.”

The commission didn’t make any decisions on salaries Friday.

Representing the Police Commission at the meeting, Chairman Frank De Rego said the commission and police chief didn’t initiate the discussion but were invited by the Salary Commission to make a “benchmark” recommendation for the police chief’s salary.

He said the recommendation was based on comparison with police chiefs’ salaries in communities and departments of similar size, taking into consideration the cost of living index.

“I think there’s a really big misconception that the police chief and the Police Commission voluntarily entered into this process,” De Rego said. “This is part of a process that was initiated by the Salary Commission.”

He said the salary recommendation was for the position, not the person filling the job.

At a Feb. 2 Police Commission special meeting where the salary recommendation was discussed, some commissioners said Pelletier took a pay cut from his former job as a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department captain when he accepted the police chief’s job. In recommending a pay increase, one commissioner said Pelletier was “working very hard and doing a lot of things that we wanted him to do.”

The recommendation was higher than the $195,000 annual salary that Pelletier said he thought was “fair.”

Salary Commission member Scott Parker said the Police Commission could have approached the Salary Commission when they started the hiring process for a new chief if they wanted a more competitive salary, rather than waiting for the Salary Commission to ask for a recommendation, which it did in December.

De Rego said the commission “didn’t even know” that was a possibility.

Speaking after the meeting, De Rego said the commission “had no intention” of raising the chief’s salary. “We’re not trying to raise anybody’s salary,” De Rego said. “We’re just trying to give the Salary Commission information they can work with.”

At the meeting, Parker noted that De Rego’s letter justifying the recommended increase lists reasons, including that assistant chiefs and some captains make more money than the chief and deputy, “that didn’t happen overnight.”

“Those concerns have been present for a significant amount of time,” Parker said. “It behooves the commission to take an active stance and not blindside us with a $205,000 recommendation, which considerably puts this position higher than any other position … ”

Parker said the Maui Police Department chief position involves managing fewer people than the Honolulu Police Department, although the recommended salary would be comparable to the $205,800 paid in fiscal year 2020 to the HPD chief.

“I take offense to that as well,” Parker said. “I just don’t want anybody passing the buck to us now that the heat has been turned on and nobody wants to be responsible for that.”

Commission Chairman Clark Abbott noted that the Salary Commission wasn’t involved “in the hiring of this police officer.”

“Now it’s our decision as to what goes on,” he said.

The commission will hold a special meeting Feb. 25 to receive more information, including a recommendation from the Fire and Public Safety Commission on the fire chief’s salary.

Fire and Public Safety Commission Chairman Kyle Ginoza said the commission is scheduled to discuss that at its meeting Thursday. “The Fire Department is similar to the Police Department,” he said. “They’re first responders. The chief needs to be available 24/7. It’s a large department with almost 400 employees.”

During public testimony, retired Maui Police Department Lt. Rick Martinez, who was a police officer for 33 years, said previous police chiefs didn’t seek raises as large as the one being recommended for Pelletier. “They all managed with the salaries that they were offered,” he said. “They all were able to survive in our community.”

Martinez and others said Pelletier is receiving a police pension from Las Vegas, in addition to his current salary.

Pelletier’s financial disclosure statement, which was dated Dec. 29, lists his annual compensation for the previous year as captain in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as between $100,000 and $199,999.

Deputy Chief Charles Hank III, whose base salary would increase from $150,908 to $196,600 under the proposed recommendation, reported receiving at least $200,000 and up to $499,999 from the Nevada Public Employees’ Retirement System for his retirement from his job as assistant sheriff for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, according to his financial disclosure statement filed Dec. 29.

Martinez said that even at the $195,000 salary recommended by Pelletier, “that would put him above the mayor,” who earns $151,979.

“So wouldn’t that be somewhat hypocritical?” Martinez said. “Why wouldn’t it be problematic for him to be making more than the mayor?”

He said assistant chiefs who were earning more than the chief have left MPD. “And those individuals worked hard,” Martinez said. “They gave 30 years to the community.

“Mr. Pelletier’s only given two months at the most and he already wants a raise. I feel that the new chief has shown his true colors.”

The Department of Liquor Control, which is funded through fees paid by liquor licensees, asked for annual 3.5 percent raises for its director for two years “just to hedge inflation,” said Liquor Commission Chairman Leon Bolosan during the meeting.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com