Unless budgets of various offices also increase, the public administrators' challenge will be meeting payroll and having enough for the things they need to make the business of government work for the people.  The set aside for fringe benefits, for example, grows exponentially with the increase in absolute salary.  Whenever there is an increase, the expectation is higher productivity as well.  However, when there is an increase in payroll expenses, other expenses have to be cut.  The result can literally be having highly paid workers who are nevertheless paralyzed by lack of necessary support to do well.  Deliverables including quality of work and workplace suffer.  The cost of living which is the justification for many of these salary increases have to be addressed.  Rather than always coping up with the cost of living increase, Hawaii needs to radically look at how cost of living could be lowered.