The county building in Wailuku, home to the Maui County Council and mayoral offices, is shown last month. The Salary Commission on Friday voted to give 5 percent salary increases to the mayor and council members, reversing its decision four months ago to defer pay raises for the officials until 2023. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo

Reversing a decision four months ago to defer pay raises for the mayor and County Council, the Maui County Salary Commission voted Friday to give 5 percent salary increases to the elected officials.

The pay raises take effect with the start of the fiscal year July 1. The percentage aligns with 5 percent pay raises that the commission voted last month to award to county directors and deputy directors, also starting July 1.

“It’s been a number of years and there’s been no increase,” said Commissioner Peter Martin, who proposed the increase to match the percentage given to directors and deputies. “We all know by not increasing their pay, we’re lowering their pay.”

Martin said he also wanted to discuss lowering council members’ salaries in the future so “pay would be maybe way less going forward” for those who run for office next time.

Commissioners voted 5-2 for the increase, with Commissioners Edwin Misaki and Scott Parker voting no.

Parker said Maui County Council members are the highest paid across the state, based on information provided to the commission by Joe Kent, executive vice president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.

Annual salaries are $76,000 for council members and $82,000 for the council chairwoman in the county, which has a population of about 170,000. In Honolulu, with a population of about 1 million, council members and the chairman earn $68,000, Parker said.

When compared nationally, he said the Maui County Council salaries are “well above average, even when adjusted for cost of living.”

“You got to take that data to heart when making decisions,” Parker said. “Our population isn’t the highest and they’re the highest paid in the state.”

In a letter to the commission, Mayor Michael Victorino supported the 5 percent increase for council members, saying they haven’t received an increase in pay since 2013.

Commission Chairman Clark Abbott said a cost-of-living increase of 5 percent was “only fair.” But Abbott said it would be difficult to further increase council members’ salaries.

Commissioner Grant Nakama asked when the county managing director’s salary would exceed that of the mayor.

David Underwood, director of the county Department of Personnel Services, said that was set to occur July 1 when the salary of Managing Director Sandy Baz will increase to $156,149, compared with the mayor’s current salary of $151,979.

With the increases approved Friday, the mayor’s salary would increase to $159,578 to remain higher than that of the managing director. Pay would rise to $79,800 for council members and $86,100 for the council chairwoman.

The 5 percent increase exceeds the 2 percent pay raises for the mayor and council that the commission awarded in March 2020 before deferring the raises in December 2020 and again last December.

The pay raises can be included in the county budget for the upcoming fiscal year because the council is still reviewing the budget, said Deputy Managing Director Josiah Nishita.

He renewed a county administration request to have annual salaries for the director and deputy director of the new Department of Agriculture set at $126,386 and $113,747, respectively. The amounts are the same for the Department of Transportation, which has the lowest salaries for county department heads.

Last month, the Salary Commission set the annual salaries at $90,000 for the director and $70,000 for the deputy director of the Department of Agriculture when it opens July 1.

At those amounts, Nishita said it will be difficult to recruit or retain employees.

While the department is currently proposed to have an initial annual budget of $1.371 million, compared to the Department of Transportation’s budget of more than $4 million, Nishita said some current programs and funding for agriculture eventually will be transferred to the new department to add about $7 million to its budget.

He said the number of employees also is expected to increase from about five initially.

The Department of Agriculture will be similar in size and have similar responsibilities, including managing federal grants and programs, as the Department of Transportation, Nishita said.

Email testimony, including from a few members of the county Ag Working Group, asked the commission to reconsider and set higher salaries.

Commissioner Parker said additional information had been provided since the commission set the salaries last month. He proposed setting the salaries at the higher amounts but not including the 5 percent increase that other directors and deputies will receive July 1.

Martin said he opposed the proposal and didn’t agree with testimony that the lower salary was “insulting.” He said the pay was higher than that of teachers and many others who work hard.

Martin and Abbott voted no to the higher salaries, while four commissioners voted yes. Misaki abstained from voting, so his vote was counted as a no. One commissioner was excused. Because five votes are required to pass a motion, the proposal failed, leaving the salaries as set last month.

Misaki asked for more information, including salaries of state Department of Agriculture and University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources employees.

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