From an objective point of view, a proposal now under consideration to give a pay raise to Honolulu's mayor and other top officials, including City Council members, makes sense.

It is good management practice to pay top administrators at least a little more than those they supervise.

In the city today, there are senior civil servants who make more than their appointed boss. This is not rational and also discourages experienced civil-service employees from moving into critical administrative roles, which can be a loss for the city.

At a time when property taxes are rising and the city struggles to meet its obligations, many might see any effort to offer raises as frivolous or unthinking. That reaction is understandable.

But ultimately, this is not about today's events or about the folks who happen to hold those offices at the moment. It is about a reasonable and coherent administrative structure in city government.

Some of the sting might be taken out if, by policy or by law, elected officials were not allowed to take raises during their current term of office. The idea is that they voluntarily ran for a post at a certain salary level.

After the next election, the new, higher salaries could kick in.