About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

Born and raised on Oahu, Catherine Toth Fox is an editor, writer, children’s book author, blogger and former journalism instructor. She is currently the editor at large for Hawaii Magazine and lives in Honolulu with her husband, son and two dogs. You can follow her on Instagram @catherinetothfox. Opinions are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat's views.

Too many in the private sector have seen their wages stagnate since the pandemic.

We all know how expensive it is to live in Hawaii.

The median price for a single-family home on Oahu was nearly $1 million in February, and Hawaii’s average annual wages, adjusted for inflation, have only increased 16% since 1969, while the cost of goods and services have risen sharply since. Even the cost of eggs in Hawaii — $9.73 a dozen — is the highest in the nation.

And yet, many of us are still earning the same salaries we did pre-pandemic. (Some of us even less. And I know people who work in hotels who still haven’t been called back from furlough.)

So it came as a shock — maybe even a slap in the face — when news broke that the Honolulu Salary Commission recommended substantial pay boosts for the mayor, city department heads and City Council members. In particular, the commission proposed a nearly 100% pay increase for the council, raising members’ salaries to $135,000 from $68,904. Technically, City Council members are part-time employees, though they do get full medical benefits, a $350 monthly car stipend and other financial perks.

Compare that to state legislators who make $63,604 and work part time. In states with high costs of living like Hawaii — namely, California and New York — state lawmakers earn $119,702 and $110,000, respectively. That’s still less than what the Honolulu Salary Commission is proposing for the council.

Honolulu City Council member Augie Tulba listens to public testimony on a large video screen at Honolulu Hale.
Honolulu City Council member Augie Tulba said now is not the time for pay raises. (Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022)

The argument for this huge hike in salaries is twofold: council members say they work full-time hours and should be compensated, and the wage increase reflects the high cost of living in Hawaii. Mayor Rick Blangiardi — who would see his annual salary increase to $209,856 from $186,432 — said the pay hikes were necessary to recruit and retain city workers. Also, the mayor and short-term appointees don’t benefit from pensions.

At least one City Council member is against the pay raise.

Augie Tulba, who represents District 9 (Waipahu, Iroquois Point, West Loch, Ewa Villages and portions of Ewa Beach), feels like this proposal is badly timed — and unnecessary.

“Right now, it’s a bad time for us to talk about raises, especially when a recession is coming,” he says. “At the end of the day, people in the community like see you get all the things done, all the things they ask for … I like being a public servant. I’m not complaining about my pay.”

Tulba, who’s best known as a local comedian, works as a radio host and emcees events on weekends to supplement his city salary. He admits his day job — city councilman — takes up a lot of his time, and he often works more than 40 hours a week.

“I’ve got to still survive here in Hawaii,” he says. “You cannot survive on $68,000 a year, but I knew that going in.”

In the end, the commission ended up on Tuesday approving the lower end of the proposed pay raises, but that’s still a 64.4% jump. The salary for individual council members will increase to $113,292, which still seems high for a part-time city job — the requirement of which is being a resident and registered voter in the appropriate council district

If we compare mean salaries using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, they will be making more than clinical psychologists, human resource managers, detectives, environmental engineers, registered nurses, midwives, journalists and most teachers. And all of these jobs require degrees, certifications and experience.

I can’t say City Council members don’t deserve the high salary. I’ve never held public office and I realize their public schedules don’t reflect a lot of the work they do, from attending neighborhood board meetings to talking with reporters like me. But I agree with Tulba that this isn’t the best time to dole out considerable raises when many of us — the folks who voted them into office — are struggling to get by on far lower salaries.

 “When I see that teachers don’t make as much as me, or counselors or social workers who work with our homeless, that they don’t even make close to me, it feels selfish,” Tulba says. “I didn’t come into this job for the pay. I came into this job to serve.”


Read this next:

John Pritchett: Ganging Up


Local reporting when you need it most

Support timely, accurate, independent journalism.

Honolulu Civil Beat is a nonprofit organization, and your donation helps us produce local reporting that serves all of Hawaii.

Contribute

About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

Born and raised on Oahu, Catherine Toth Fox is an editor, writer, children’s book author, blogger and former journalism instructor. She is currently the editor at large for Hawaii Magazine and lives in Honolulu with her husband, son and two dogs. You can follow her on Instagram @catherinetothfox. Opinions are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat's views.


Latest Comments (0)

Many of our "part-time" elected officials are lawyers who can get paid hundreds of dollars per hour for consulting, advising, or just doing routine legal work when government is not in session. I'm not sympathetic to their woes. As for Tulba's comment that, "You cannot survive on $68,000 a year, but I knew that going in," I live quite nicely on less than $68 K as a single person on a single income. It appears that Tulba has forgotten what it's like to be one of the little people.

MsW · 1 year ago

A vicious cycle has to be broken by elected and appointed officials. Bring down the cost of living for themselves and everyone. Think about it, why does everyone keep on wanting better pay? Why is there a clash on whether elected officials deserve a pay raise? The economics of it is this high cost of living is forcing everyone to ask for better pay. Almost every decent worker needs a better income because of the cost of living. The high cost of living propels everyone towards social irresponsibility. Because there are not enough monies for everyone, catching up with the cost of living becomes a power play. Some get bailed out via salary increases, while others have not had such luck. It is good that at least one Councilmember senses the social irresponsibility of him getting bailed out of the high cost of living while others are not.

Ca · 1 year ago

Many of the "leaders" do not deserve a raise! They are public servants to the people, yet they ignore the people's needs and wants!

Kathleen · 1 year ago

Join the conversation

About IDEAS

IDEAS is the place you'll find essays, analysis and opinion on every aspect of life and public affairs in Hawaii. We want to showcase smart ideas about the future of Hawaii, from the state's sharpest thinkers, to stretch our collective thinking about a problem or an issue. Email news@civilbeat.org to submit an idea.

Mahalo!

You're officially signed up for our daily newsletter, the Morning Beat. A confirmation email will arrive shortly.

In the meantime, we have other newsletters that you might enjoy. Check the boxes for emails you'd like to receive.

  • What's this? Be the first to hear about important news stories with these occasional emails.
  • What's this? You'll hear from us whenever Civil Beat publishes a major project or investigation.
  • What's this? Get our latest environmental news on a monthly basis, including updates on Nathan Eagle's 'Hawaii 2040' series.
  • What's this? Get occasional emails highlighting essays, analysis and opinion from IDEAS, Civil Beat's commentary section.

Inbox overcrowded? Don't worry, you can unsubscribe
or update your preferences at any time.