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Little auditor deserves
a giant raise

Marion Higa, the diminutive state auditor who speaks softly and carries a big calculator, has saved the state millions of dollars during the 13 years she's been in office. But get this: In that entire time, she has never gotten a raise.

Judges have gotten raises. Governors have gotten raises. Legislators have given themselves raises. I'm sure that even the state dogcatcher, if there is such a position, has gotten raises.

So why hasn't Higa? For one thing, Higa isn't a big self-promoter. She stands a little taller than Yoda but appears to be a giant when she wades into an agency that needs shaking up. And they just about all do. She's uncovered government waste and double-dipping everywhere from the state prisons to labyrinthine civil service agencies. She found a few years ago, for instance, that prison guards were making so much overtime, they were getting paid almost more than she was.

She makes about $85,000 a year, which is the third from the bottom of state auditors nationally. Even tiny Rhode Island pays its auditor more than $140,000.

There are a number of bills in the Legislature that would give Higa a raise, tying her salary to that of judges or certain state department directors.

I THINK her salary should be tied to that of University of Hawaii football coach June Jones. He made 10 times more than Higa last year for a 7-5 season. Higa can't have a 7-5 season. She has to hit a home run (to mix sports metaphors) every time she tries to figure out why a certain state department or agency is wasting money or manpower.

I asked her about tying her salary to June Jones, and she said, "That would be nice." I also asked her why she hasn't made a big noise about not getting a raise for 13 years, and she said, "It's a little hard to go and argue one's own case."

See? When was the last time you heard anyone in government say that?

So, I'll argue her case for her. PAY THE WOMAN! If you can't tie her salary to that of the football coach, let her take a penny of every dollar she saves the state, like the old sailing captains who got to make "prizes" of the ships they captured. A penny commission on every dollar she keeps the state from wasting would make Marion Higa one of the highest-paid government employees in the entire world.