Over the years, Lihu‘e senior citizen Charles Trembath has supported the Kaua‘i County Council and past mayors for their efforts in funding programs that have benefited Kaua‘i’s elderly. But he said his support ebbs when it comes to salary increases
Over the years, Lihu‘e senior citizen Charles Trembath has supported the Kaua‘i County Council and past mayors for their efforts in funding programs that have benefited Kaua‘i’s elderly.
But he said his support ebbs when it comes to salary increases the Kaua‘i Salary Commission has recently recommended for the mayor and at least 30 appointees and the seven-member council.
Kaua‘i senior citizens live on fixed incomes, can barely cope with the rising cost of government services and are barely getting by, Trembath said. If anything, the salary hikes should be modest, he urged.
Trembath said he represents 20 kupuna and 15 other younger Kaua‘i residents who feel the same way. “Give them something, but not what is being proposed,” Trembath said in a brief interview.
Trembath said the proposed salary increases would not be an “issue if the economy was in good shape, everyone had a chance for a decent job with a hopeful future, and most local families can afford to buy a home.”
The Kaua‘i County Salary Commission has proposed a 30 to 40 percent salary boost for the council members, including the council chairman.
The same commission has proposed increasing the salaries for Mayor Bryan Baptiste and up to 30 appointees.
If approved by the council, the raises for the administration folks would be the first in ten years, and would take effect in this fiscal year.
The commission is recommending the mayor’s yearly salary, for instance, be boosted from $73,188 to $80,000, and the yearly salaries of some department heads be lifted from $69,371 to $75,000.
The commission has proposed the raises as a way to continue to attract top-quality people to county jobs, and to close the salary gap between supervisors and hundreds of county employees who have seen incremental pay raises partly due to the strength of unions.
Trembath said some senior citizens are “really upset by the idea of the raises.”
He said it is not fair some senior citizens have to scrape by, while county officials, although providing a needed service to the community, could be eligible for such salary jumps.
“It (giving the salary increases) is a not a win-win situation,” Trembath said.
He said he and others are concerned approval of higher salaries may mean higher taxes or a reduction in government services. For the next fiscal year, the council and Baptiste reduced the property tax rates for buildings and land to compensate for higher property assessments tied to repeat property sales since 1998.
As a result of the property sales, more real property revenues have been generated for fiscal year 2004-2005. For the next fiscal year, the county anticipates about $53 million in real property tax revenues.
