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Some Answers to Your Questions about the Honolulu City Council 64% Pay Raise Controversy

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2023 Pay Raise Ruckus

Parts of this information is from public domain. The Approval of the City Council 54% Pay Raise is on around April 22, 2023. This huge increase caught the ire of the public. Much attention was focused on this issue that also produced significant attendance that prolonged into the evening at Honolulu Hale.

Tommy Waters was the Chair of the Honolulu City Council who pushed this through. This is the recording on June 7, 2023 beginning 6:59

There was even a polling by the Honolulu Star Advertiser with overwhelming voters against the 64% pay raise.

Chair Tommy Waters dug in his heels.

In 2023, the Honolulu Salary Commission approved a controversial 64% pay raise that increased City Council members’ salaries from $68,904 to $113,304 per year, and raised the Council chair’s salary to $123,288. The adjustment cost the city an additional $44,40 annually per participating member.

Summary of 2023 Adjustments

  • Council Members: Base pay increased from $68,904 to $113,304
  • Council Chair: Pay increased from $76,968 to 123,288
  • Mayor & Executive Leadership: Received a smaller 12.6% pay raise during the same cycle, with the mayor’s salary rising above $200,000.00

Key Developments Since 2023

  • Charter Amendment Capping Raises: Public backlash over the hike led Oahu voters to overwhelmingly approve a charter amendment, which took effect in 2025, capping future raises at 5% annually and removing the City Council’s authority to vote on their own compensation.

I voted NO against this Charter Amendment Capping Raises. It fundamentally takes the accountability from the ELECTED City Council Members. It passes the buck to the Salary Commission and takes the City Council members off the hook.

This is a very bad direction in many ways.

First, the city council position is an elected position. It should not be clumped together into the regular employee salary category.

Second, the City Council members must be accountable to the public in this elected office.

Third, the City Council and the Mayor appoints members to the Honolulu Salary Commission who will make the ultimate decision on salaries for the people who appointed them.

  • Rejections: Council members Andria Tupola, Radiant Cordero, and Augie Tulba formally rejected the 2023 pay raise at the time.
  • In 2023, Councilmember Andria Tupola, along with Councilmember Augie Tulba, introduced two resolutions (Resolution 23-81 and Resolution 23-82) to reject the Honolulu Salary Commission’s controversial 64% pay raise for council members and executives.
  • Resolution 23-81: Requested the rejection of salary increases and schedules for all city officials (including the Mayor and executives) on the basis of current economic conditions. Although the Council Chair Tommy Waters refused to put this Resolution on the Agenda to be discussed. Irate residents went ahead and submitted written testimonies to this Resolution to vent their anger. Read the written testimonies here.
  • Resolution 23-82: Specifically called to reject the Council members’ and the Council chair’s pay hikes, citing that the recommended raises were “unreasonably high and should not be allowed to take effect”.
  • Residents again were denied public participation as Chair Tommy Waters refused to put the two about Resolutions into the agenda for discussion. Residents collected some petitions but to no avail.
  • Because Council Chair Tommy Waters refused to schedule the resolutions for a hearing, the salary increase never received a vote amongst the council members. However, The Salary Commission Recommendations were accepted. The public was denied public participation. Tupola ( and Augie Tulba) formally rejected the pay raise in a memo to the city to keep their salary at its lower 2022 level ($68,904), although she eventually accepted the higher salary after the buzz subsided and she was re-elected.

2026 – – Another salary increase. City Council member Esther Kia’aina presently opposed the Salary Commission 4.7% making a differentiation between elected and employee salaries. However, she was a staunch supporter of the 2023 salary 64% increase. She also supported the City Charter Question relieving the City Council of accountable by giving full power of decision to the appointed Salary Commission.

  • Subsequent Adjustments: In 2026, the Honolulu Salary Commission authorized another 4.7% salary increase for executive and legislative posts, pushing regular council members’ salaries to $127,801

Honolulu City Council – 64% Pay Increase for FY 2024

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There are lots of twists and turns, machinations, and colouring to this pay increase controversy.

The fundamental question is whether the Council Chair Tommy Waters would place Resolutions 23-81 and Resolutions 23-82 on the June 7, 2023 Public Hearing Agenda to address the 64% pay increase.

Resolutions 81 & 82 continue to be ignored and time is quickly running out.

If no actions are taken against the Salary Commission‘s recommended increase, these 64% pay raises automatically become effective as of July 1, 2023.

Also, Tommy Waters and Mayor Blangiardi’s rationale for salary raises can be read in their testimonies to the Salary Commission. Salary Commission members are nominated by Mayor and approved by City Council.

The public’s most awaited meeting was June 7, 2023 – – to see whether the Council would reject the huge leap in pay raise for themselves. Scroll to 6:59 thereabouts to hear Bill10 on Page 27 Agenda.

Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters presided at the June 7. The 10 AM Hearing started at 10:45 AM and finished about nine hours later. Chair Waters did not place Resolutions 23-81 and 23-82 relating to the 64% salary increases on the Agenda.

Bill 10 was the most appropriate agenda item to opine on this 64% raise. Bill 10 was a comprehensive legislative packet to approve the County Budget for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2023 to June 20, 2024. Bill 10 would be where the funds for these pay raises needed to be penciled in. You can look at the June 7 Agenda and click Bill 10 (Page 27) to watch the video proceedings.

Residents were unhappy that Bill 10 was pushed to the back of the agenda. The opportunity for the public to testify began at about 7:00 p.m. Some residents had to leave. The marathon 10:00 AM Council Hearing began at 10:45 AM.

Written testimonies were also submitted earlier by the public. There was also an online petition – “Don’t hide, let the people decide your 64% pay raise”.

Despite the public uproar, Chair Waters dug in his heels and denied public participation by ignoring Resolutions 81 and 82.

Here is brief chronology for this 64% pay raise issue:

January 19, 2023: The nomination of Rebecca Soon through Resolution 23-7 to the Honolulu Salary Commission was submitted by Chair Tommy Waters.

Rebecca Soon is the daughter of Ray Soon (Former Chief of Staff to Mayor Kirk Caldwell) and Cheryl Soon.

January 25, 2023: Listen to the conversation beginning at 4:00 between Salary Commission nominee Rebecca Soon with Waters, Kia’aina, and Cordero.

Listen to the conversation between Chair Tommy Waters, Esther Kia’aina and Radiant Cordero about “full-time” or “part-time” and what salary compensation should be. Beginning at 4:00 pm with this Video

March 21. 2023: Local news media like KITV were following this issue. KHON2 also covered the Proposed Salary for City Council and Administration. The Salary Commission Meeting Agenda included FOR ACTION for deliberation and decision-making relating to the City pay raises:

April 25, 2023: Honolulu Salary Commission’s Press Release adopting its FY24 Salary Schedule and Calls For Action To Attract Public Servants To The City.

The Pearl City Neighborhood Board, a citizen grassroots advisory board, voted to oppose the proposed Salary Increases.

April 27, 2023: Two Resolutions responding to the Salary increases were introduced By City Council members Augie Tulba and Andria Tupola – – Resolutions 23-81 and Resolutions 23-82 to partially or impartially reject the increases.

But City Council Chair Tommy Waters refused to allow these two resolutions a public hearing. Doing nothing about the Salary Commission recommended increases would automatically triggers the increases on July 1, 2023.

May 15, 2023: Chair Tommy Waters signed REQUEST FOR SEALED BIDS ( “RFB”) to perform a salary analysis and comparison study for the Honolulu Salary Commission. Closed Date May 30m 2023. Cost was supposedly $100,000.00 A curious person would ask who received this very seemingly short-noticed request and turn-around report.

May 19, 2023: Maikiki Neighborhood Board also opposed the salary hikes. Makiki Board Chair wrote its opposing resolution due to unprecedented negative reactions to the pay raises.

May 25, 2023: With a horse before the cart action, Chair Waters and Vice-Chair Esther Kia’aina introduced Bill 33 and Resolution 23-109 to prohibit outside empolyment for city council members. Written testimonies on his two similar actions point to “distractions” intentions.

Resolutions 81 and 82 to reject the 64% increase continued to be denied a public hearing by Chair Waters.

June 7, 2023: City Council approves salary increase through inaction in Bill 10. Scroll to 6:57 to watch proceedings. Only Augie Tulba and Andria Tupola voted “NO” in addressing the pay raises. Bill 33 to Prohibit Outside Employment was rescinded and cancelled. Companion Resolution 12-109 passed First Reading. No funds were penciled into the Budget to address the 64% salary increases at this hearing. (However, keep it mind that there is an allowed shell game of moving funds without public votes.)

The two potent Resolutions 23-81 and Resolutions 23-82 to partially or impartially reject the increases remain ignored.

However, the D-Day is June 25 for Chair Tommy Waters to reverse this decision. Waters can still call a Special Hearing. Funds for these 64% pay increases have to be penciled in. The next question is: Where will these salary funds be taken from?

During the entire course of this 64% pay increase controversy, Chair Tommy Waters offered many contradicting rationale, including Conflicts of Interests and why the City Council should not vote for its own salary increases.

However, the Director of the Honolulu Ethics Commission Jan Yamane, who was invited to the June 7 Hearing, also clarified that City Council members could vote on these salary issues by filing a Conflict of Interest Disclosure. A flurry of Conflict of Interests was filed subsequently by the council members.

Contrary to what current Council Chair Waters is insisting about not being able to vote against the Honolulu Salary Commission, here is an example of another City Council Chair Ernie Martin who rejected pay raises in 2013 by introducing Resolution 13-88 himself.