Council did right thing by rejecting pay raises

The demise of the proposed pay raises for certain Kaua’i County officials is no

surprise, and not just because County Council members running for re-election

are making points with voters by pulling the plug.

Actually, the no-raises

decision was made for the council when Amfac Sugar Kaua’i announced in

September it was going out of business. Today, 400 workers are a month away

from losing their jobs when the closing of the company’s operations takes

effect, leaving employees and their families with shaky financial futures until

the breadwinners find new jobs.

So the council’s Finance Committee did the

obvious -but right – thing Wednesday by deep-sixing the raises. Now is simply a

lousy time to sweeten the paychecks of public officials who have constituents

who are wondering where their own paychecks will come from in the

future.

No other arguments against the raises carry as much weight. Critics

of Mayor Maryanne Kusaka (she and Prosecuting Attorney Mike Soong were the only

elected officials in line for wage hikes; the rest are appointed department

heads, such as the police chief) and of county government in general can say

that the salaries are good enough already. Critics can also accurately point

out that nobody is forced to work for the public, and that the ones who aren’t

happy with their compensation can seek their fortune in the private sector. But

there is no question that many county officials work hard and deserve raises

for doing their jobs effectively and to the public’s benefit, which is why the

Salary Commission recommended the pay boosts.

That doesn’t matter, though,

when the local employment picture is out of focus. Government officials,

especially the elected ones, can set an appropriate tone at such times by

leading a community responsibly and sensibly. And the responsible and sensible

thing is what the council members did.