The Maui County Salary Commission voted Friday to give county directors and deputy directors 5 percent raises, starting in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Directors and deputies also will receive 5 percent raises in each of the two years that follow, except in the Fire and Public Safety Department, Police Department, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney and Department of Corporation Counsel.

Commissioners said they would do more review of salaries for those department heads. “Those four have unique circumstances,” Commissioner Grant Nakama said.

“We’re going to have to look deeper into how we’re going to make those increases without breaking the county budget,” said Commissioner Ed Misaki.

The commission also voted Friday to set the annual salaries for the director and deputy director of the newly created Department of Agriculture at $90,000 and $70,000, respectively. Five of the nine commissioners voted in favor of the amounts, which are less than the $126,386 and $113,747 that would have aligned the salaries with those of the director and deputy director of the Department of Transportation, as recommended in a letter from Managing Director Sandy Baz.

The votes Friday followed a commission review of salaries for directors and deputy directors that started late last year.

Money for the pay increases will come from the county general fund, except for the Environmental Management, Liquor Control, Public Works and Water Supply departments, which have special funds, according to a letter from the mayor’s office.

Last month, more than a dozen people testified against a Maui Police Commission recommendation to increase the police chief’s salary by 29 percent from $158,851 to $205,000 a year. The proposed increase was higher than the nearly 23 percent raise to $195,000 a year that new Police Chief John Pelletier recommended.

The Fire and Public Safety Commission recommended a 32 percent increase for Fire Chief Brad Ventura from $158,851 to $210,000 a year.

Salary Commission members settled on the 5 percent raise to be in line with pay increases for county employees who are members of United Public Workers Bargaining Unit 01.

A recent settlement for those employees includes a one-time $1,000 lump sum for those who were employed on June 30, a 3.72 percent increase on Oct. 2 and 5 percent increases on July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, said David Underwood, county director of personnel services.

He said that is the only county employee union that has completed negotiations.

In voting for the 5 percent across-the-board pay increases for three years, commissioners said they wanted the pay raises to take effect this year. Commissioners said they could decide to withhold, reduce or increase the raises after this year.

“If the circumstances did not warrant the extra 5 percent the following year, it could be stopped,” said Chairman Clark Abbott.

For the fire chief position, 5 percent increases for three years wouldn’t increase the salary to the level recommended by the Fire Commission, “but it gets close,” said Commissioner Scott Parker.

“It also allows us the flexibility to continue to evaluate what we need to do as a commission to determine whether increases need to be more aggressive or more conservative,” he said.

Starting July 1, salaries for both the fire chief and police chief would increase to $166,793 a year.

In making salary recommendations, fire and police commissioners have discussed salary “inversion” in the departments, with some lower-ranking employees earning more than the chief and deputy.

“I don’t believe the inversion will ever be addressed, even with this,” Parker said. “You’re still going to have people who are going to continuously be paid more than directors and deputies. We’re still going to be playing catch up. It addresses our charge of determining whether our deputies and directors are compensated to the degree they should be, separate from the inversion conversation.”

Commissioner Peter Martin was the only one who voted against the three-year pay raises, saying he would rather focus on one year first.

“We can, at our discretion, determine if we want to defer increases in any subsequent fiscal year, depending on economic conditions if need be,” Parker said. “At least this gives us a projection of how the increases would play out in subsequent fiscal years.”

The commission voted to set the Department of Agriculture salaries after there weren’t enough votes to pass a motion to set the salaries at the higher amount, which would have been the same as the lowest salaries for a director and deputy in the county.

“I think to start the Department of Agriculture at the same existing salary of the Department of Transportation is a little bit like shooting a rabbit,” Abbott said. “Anything over $100,000 is above and beyond the cost until the department proves what it needs. It’s completely out of line to me.”

Martin, who recommended the lower amounts, said, “I think we can get an excellent person for less money.”

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