Public safety compensation in Hawaii is decided in the open: in binding arbitration awards, county budgets, union contracts, commission meetings, and federal law. The record exists. It is just scattered across agencies, written in technical language, and rarely explained. This site gathers it and explains it, and this page lays out the rules we hold ourselves to while doing it.
The records we rely on
Our claims come from primary, public sources, including:
- Federal law and regulation for the overtime rules: the Fair Labor Standards Act, including the Section 7(k) exemption, and the Department of Labor regulations that govern it.
- Binding arbitration awards for firefighter and police contract outcomes, and the county council resolutions that adopt their cost items.
- County budgets and commissioned studies, including the Maui County program budget and the MGT classification and compensation study the county paid for.
- Department records, such as the Maui Fire Department operational roster and Fire and Public Safety Commission meeting minutes.
- Official wage and income data, including state salary schedules, the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation income guidelines, and Bureau of Labor Statistics cost of living figures.
- National safety standards and research for staffing, such as NFPA 1710 and federal crew-size studies.
How we handle numbers
Where a figure is a single verifiable fact, we cite the record it comes from. Where a figure is a projection, such as overtime lost over a career, we label it an estimate, show the assumptions behind it, and note that individual outcomes vary. We prefer the primary document over a summary of it, and we say so when a number is drawn from someone with direct knowledge rather than a published table.
What we do not do
We do not state speculation as fact, and we do not present opinion as data. The goal is public understanding, not outrage. When the record is incomplete or a figure is contested, we say that plainly instead of filling the gap.
Check it yourself
Every article ends with a Sources and References list identifying the documents behind its claims. Most of those records are public: county budgets and studies through the County of Maui, state salary schedules through the Hawaii Department of Human Resources Development, legislation and testimony through the Hawaii State Legislature, and federal wage law through the U.S. Department of Labor. If you find something you believe we got wrong, we want to know. New to the terminology? See the plain-language glossary.
Independence
This is an independent community education project. It is not affiliated with, funded by, or speaking on behalf of HFFA, the IAFF, the State of Hawaii, any county government, any fire department, or any employer or political organization. For the full statement, see our disclaimer, or read more about this site.