Would we expect anything else?

[kalakoa]

if you don't like it - move somewhere else!

I call this the "captive audience effect". County doesn't have to compete with "the next town over" because you can't drive there.

[EightFingers]

Price, quality, service.....pick any two.

[enoughisenough]

Where to begin. I don't see anyone "bitching' about the 34.6% increase for County Council, what I do see is that this County is being run on a daily basis, forget yesterday and don't worry about tomorrow, after all the Director of Finance, when asked about how the County was going to pay for all these budget increases said" there should be enough money". She's right, they will find the money from a real estate tax increase by the County Council, from a gas tax increase by the County Council and now a proposed GET increase. Salaries are primarily funded by property taxes. That 34.6% increase is not even fully burdened. Most benefit costs will also increase.
Might I remind you that for the last three years, Social Security recipients here in Hawaii received a 2.3% increase. Not per year, but for all three years. That amounts to about one gallon of gas a week. Many of those retirees have to live on what they receive after working all their lives. Might I also remind you that a member of the Salary Commission said" I think this (34.6% increase)is excessive, very very excessive".
This is what we get when we elect people who have NO LARGE BUSINESS experience. The County is not a little, home grown business, it is a HALF A BILLION DOLLAR a year organization that is being run by a Council with no large business experience.
Just wait, County Council will start wringing their hands, claiming that they can not control the system. Well. if that's the case they should not be in charge of a HALF A BILLION DOLLAR budget. It's time to fix the system that perpetuates a Friends and Family style business run from Oahu. It's time for the County Council to be swept clean. They have lovely smiles but they clearly are not capable of business management. None of this should be a surprise to the County Council they are in charge. It's their JOB to know what's coming. And to the contributor that suggest the person in charge of the Transportation Dept will be the next to get a raise, too late, she already did. Don't expect anyone who is running for reelection to take any action against organized Oahu unions that control salaries here. That's how their campaigns are funded.
They will tell us they will donate a portion of their salary increases which will amount to just about what the paper its printed on. These changes will not be rescinded, they are now part of our tax-them-to death system, and unfortunately that's is exactly what may happen to some people living here. The largest home rental group on the Island has already announced major increases in rents to cover the tax increase voted on by the County Council. But at least they took care of plastic bags for us.

[Frank]

@ enough ...excellent

[Rob Tucker]

enough,

Welcome to Punaweb. You are new here. Use the pencil icon to edit. You need to break your post down into paragraphs.

Assume the best and ask questions.

Punaweb moderator

[Durian Fiend]

“The Deputy is getting paid much less than an employee that he manages,” Takamine said.

Are these folks overpaid for their level of education and expertise or not? I have no idea. It does seem like bad timing for a raise though.

[leilanidude]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Durian Fiend

“The Deputy is getting paid much less than an employee that he manages,” Takamine said.

Are these folks overpaid for their level of education and expertise or not? I have no idea. It does seem like bad timing for a raise though.

---

What that really means is that the Deputy is not capable of managing the overtime hours/pay of that employee. That is a management failure all on its own.

[kalakoa]

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2018/01/2...-counties/

Water Board Chair Craig Takamine said the raise was mostly tied to Okamoto's performance, which he praised despite a year for DWS that saw a water shortage in North Kona due to rampant deep well equipment failure and usage reductions that persisted across the region for nearly an entire year.

"We feel like they’re doing a great job," Takamine said Tuesday.

Just think of the raises that would have been handed out if there hadn't been any Kona deepwell failures.

As for the Mayor, Council, etc:

The Salary Commission, which doled out those pay hikes, noted some similar justifications as Takamine, saying top officials were making less money than their subordinates. The commission also mentioned it had been several years since many of the jobs were afforded raises.

Leaves me with two questions:

1. If management jobs pay so poorly, why did these people apply for those positions?

2. Will it be another "several years" before more raises are handed out?

[Kapoho Joe]

The point is that these raises occur regularly with zero correlation to job performance. This County treats raises like they are Cost Of Living or COLA increases and hands them out like candy. Considering the current failure to pay into the employee retirement fund as just one, I know several better places to spend money.