Thanks to David Shapiro for exposing the effort by the mayor and City Council to get outlandish pay raises through the Honolulu Salary Commission, a group appointed by the mayor and the Council (“Mayor, Honolulu City Council asking big raises from handpicked panel,” Star-Advertiser, Volcanic Ash, March 19).
This is such typical sneaky politics. The mayor has set up a smokescreen by touring the island, holding town hall meetings while the pay raises are being discussed. When asked in a television interview about the raises, Blangiardi said he didn’t come to talk about that, but wanted to talk about the town hall meetings.
Blangiardi would get a 17.1% raise, while the highest inflation reading for the U.S. in the last year is 9.2%. Why? He hasn’t solved the homelessness problem or the street pothole problem, and with real property taxes through the roof, he offers a one-time $300 rebate. Will the property taxes pay for these raises?
City Council members shouldn’t be paid for a full-time job. They already work full-time: half-time for the city and half-time for the construction companies and unions that pay them by making campaign fund contributions.
Don Voyce
Aina Haina
EXPRESS YOURSELF
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