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Maui mayor
salary panel to
cancel raises,
still gets one

The Council is expected to
pass a budget that calls for a
3% pay hike for the mayor
and his appointees

By Gary T. Kubota
Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- Maui County Mayor James Apana didn't want a pay raise but he's getting one anyway.

The Maui County Council is expected to pass a $215.6 million budget for fiscal year 2000-2001 next week that includes a 3 percent pay increase for the mayor, department heads and deputies.

Under the pay schedule, Apana's annual salary would increase from $87,098 to $89,711 effective July 1.

The increase for the mayor and appointees will cost an additional $74,000 in wages and benefits.

Earlier this month, Apana and the Maui County Council asked the county salary commission to cancel its decision to increase salaries for elected and appointed officials by 3 percent.

The commission, authorized by the County Charter to set salaries for elected and appointed officials, this week rescinded its plan to increase council members' pay.

But it decided to authorize 3 percent increases for the mayor, department heads and deputies.

Commission Chairman Scott Matsuura said while the Council has had several pay increases, the mayor and appointed administrators deserved a pay raise because they've had only a 3-percent increase since 1997.

"They kind of need to keep up with inflation," Matsuura said.

Council Chairman Patrick Kawano said the council reduced funding requests for a number of programs in this year's budget and he would have felt guilty if he had received a pay increase.

"There are a lot of things we had to cut that we couldn't give full funding," he said.

The $215.6-million budget is $2.3 million more than proposed by Apana and about $3.7 million more than the fiscal 1999-2000 budget.

The council increased the capital improvement budget from $18 million to $27 million.

Council members authorized $2.9 million for the purchase of computer equipment to assist in the county's move toward developing its own computerized property tax system.

While the budget does not increase property tax rates, there is a new $14-a-round fee for part-time residents at the county's municipal golf course and higher fees for developers applying for shoreline permits.