WAILUKU, Maui — Maui County's salary commission is considering hefty pay raises for council members, who are already the highest paid in the state.

Commission members have proposed increasing the pay to as high as $70,000, but deferred action Friday until its Aug. 10 meeting.

The commission believes the salaries are putting a strain on the council members. The county chair is paid $57,500 annually, with council members earning $52,500.

In comparison, Honolulu council members received a 5 percent increase on July 1 that boosted their pay from $46,900 to $49,245 with the chair now earning $55,020.

The Maui commission wants to increase the pay scale based on the workload and the need to attract qualified council members in the future.

"We're all looking for who is going to be there in the future and how are we going to get them to run," commissioner Jason Williams said. "All I want to do is make sure that our County Council understands that we know that they need a cost of living adjustment."

The schedule for pay raises was also debated.

Some favor a two-part incentive system that would give members a cost-of-living adjustment immediately and a 15 percent incentive pay hike in January 2009.

A motion that would boost salaries to $60,0375 retroactive to July 1 and $70,000 in January 2009 was voted down 4-3.