Clerk not only officer to get pay raise

A pay raise that County Clerk Peter Nakamura received a year ago based on a Salary Commission recommendation and the Kaua‘i County Council’s approval put him at the top of the county’s pay roll, surpassing the salary of Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.

But Nakamura is not the only county employee who will be making more than the mayor each paycheck until at least July.

County Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho and County Auditor Ernie Pasion also received pay raises a year ago that put them at the same level as Nakamura.

Carvalho currently makes $114,490 annually, while the other three aforementioned positions — after their Dec. 1, 2009 raises — receive an annual salary of $114,848.

The mayor’s salary was supposed to increase on Dec. 1, 2009 to $122,504, but was instead frozen until July 1, 2011. The salaries of other department heads under the mayor’s purview have also been frozen for the same period.

Meanwhile, county council members, the auditor, the prosecutor and the clerk received a pay raise on Dec. 1, 2009.