Trustee Rowena Akana and Stanton Enomoto, OHA special assistant to the administrator, address commissioners at the Dec. 4 hearing. - Photo: Lisa Asato

Increases recommended in draft report by OHA salary commission

By Lisa Asato | OHA Publications Editor

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees would get an approximately 18 percent salary increase in 2008 and a 3.5 percent annual increase for three years after that under a draft recommendation by the OHA Salary Commission.

The draft recommendation is subject to public comment and approval by the state Legislature. A final recommendation will be drawn up after the next commission meeting in early February.

The proposed increases, covering a four-year period from 2008 to 2011, would initially increase the Chairperson's salary to $57,000 from $47,000 and the salary of other Trustees to $50,000 from $41,000. At the end of the four years, in 2011, the Chairperson would earn $63,197 and other Trustees would earn $55,436.

The salary commission approved the draft recommendation 7-0 at a Dec. 18 hearing at the state Capitol. Commissioners cited a desire to get salaries on par with that of the 2009 salaries of other elective officials in the state Legislature and four county councils, as well as cost-of-living adjustments, and to attract qualified candidates and new leadership when Trustees resign or retire. The average salary of Hawai'i's elective officials, minus the highest and lowest, is $56,976 for leadership and $50,340 for members.

“I feel good about what we finally came up with in our decision based on the comparative data from the county and state,” said commissioner Lulani Arquette, executive director of Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association. “If you look at where they're at in '09 then it makes sense that we would at least match that for our Hawaiian Trustees.”

Commission vice chairman Ben Henderson said he felt the draft increases are “fair and equitable” and hopes that public will agree. “The Trustees deserve just compensation for the hard work they do. We think our recommendation reflects that,” said Henderson, deputy director for the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, who will soon be leaving his post at DHHL to start a new job as president and executive director of Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center on Feb. 1.

OHA beneficiary Marlene Morris said she would “definitely” support a pay increase for Trustees because she likes the kinds of programs OHA has done in the past as well as its plans for an nation-building conference this year. She also liked that it would make their salaries comparable to those of state and city leaders. “I think they should get paid fairly for all the things that they do,” said Morris, a retired credit and collections officer with Kaua'i Electric Co. who was visiting Honolulu last month from her home in Las Vegas.

The commission must submit its final recommendations before the 20th working day of the 2008 session, which falls in mid-February. The recommended salary will take effect unless the Legislature rejects the recommendation by adopting a concurrent resolution before the end of the legislative session.

The salary commission forms every four years to study and make recommendations on the Trustees' salaries. Commissioners are nominated by Native Hawaiian organizations and appointed by the governor.

The state Legislature set salaries for OHA Trustees at $32,000 in 1993. Since then, their salaries have increased once, in 2004.

The next meeting of the salary commission will be on O'ahu in early February. Those wishing to testify are asked to submit their testimony to the Salary Commission at P.O. Box 2433, 'Ewa Beach, HI 96706, or by email to oha.salary.commission@gmail.com, at least 48 hours prior to the hearing.

To request a copy of the draft recommendations, which is expected to be available in early January, email oha.salary.commission@gmail.com, or download a copy at www.oha.org. For more information, call 594-1835.