Pay raises have been proposed for the mayor and all top city officials by the Salary Commission of the City and Hounty of Honolulu, in light of recent collective bargaining agreements and for other reasons.

With only one exception, city officials would get a pay raise of 3.5 percent.

Part of the reasoning is to correct what officials call inversion — a situation where a worker makes more than the boss.

However, at least six top city officials are paid more than is the mayor, including the deputy fire chief, deputy police chiefs, the fire and police chiefs — and the two highest-paid city officials — the medical examiner and his deputy.

A nearly 14 percent raise is being recommended for the deputy medical examiner — in order to make the pay for that position, higher than the pay for a forensic pathologist that works under the deputy — and who is paid $240,000 a year.

The salary commission wanted to know why that salary is paid to the lower-ranked employee.

City Human Resources Director Carolee Kubo testified that is very difficult to find qualified candidates because there is a limited talent pool — because Honolulu salaries are low — and because the cost of living in Honolulu is so high.

The proposed pay raise would take the deputy medical examiner up to just over $273,000 a year.

With the pay raise, the chief medical examiner would make $310,000 dollars a year.

That compares with the nearly $370,000-annual salary of the Los Angeles County medical examiner.

The San Francisco medical examiner was paid just over $340,000 two years ago.

As of three years ago there were 500 forensic pathologists nationwide — and that was estimated to be about half the number needed.

Previously, salaries for top city officials went up five percent in 2017; up five percent in 2016, and eight percent in 2014.

These proposed raises are separate from the pay increases recommended by the State Salary Commission, for state lawmakers and the governor.

The City Salary Commission will accept written testimony until noon tomorrow, in advance of its meeting tuesday at Honolulu Hale.

Here’s the agenda with the proposed salary changes:

http://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/ccl/ccl_docs/Salary_Commission_2019-04-02_Agenda_-_stamped.pdf

You can submit written testimony via email to Commission Aide Todd Swisher via email — but you should know that your name, address, email address and phone number could become public record and be posted online on the city’s DocuShare website.

To submit written testimony, provide your name and phone number — and the agenda item:

No. 3: Public Testimony on the Permitted Interaction Group’s proposed salaries and salary schedules for FY 2019-2020.

Email todd.swisher@honolulu.gov

