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AT BEST, BOROUGH MAYOR DAVE CAREY'S generous salary increases for his senior staff is a curious way of expressing fiscal restraint.

At its worst, they are a slap in the face to every man and woman in the Kenai Peninsula Borough who lost their job or took a salary reduction since the economic recession began.

The mayor had all kinds of reasons for the salary increases when he finally coughed up the detailed salary figures for the borough assembly last week - months after they'd approved the year's budget. Senior staff has taken on more responsibility under his administration. The salaries are necessary to hold on to top talent. The borough's bottom line is still in the black.

But none of those reasons get to the heart of the matter.

While some borough managers got an additional 20 to 30 percent raise, contrast that with borough residents who have seen their jobs disappear, making the peninsula's seasonal unemployment figures just that much worse. Those fortunate folks who still have jobs had to pick up the workload when their colleagues went away. And rather than get a raise to compensate for the extra work, they were lucky if they didn't have to take a pay cut.

And wasn't it lesson enough to observe the national outrage earlier this year when Wall Street banking executives continued to reap huge pay raises and bonuses after the federal bail-out? In this current economic climate, the argument that getting good talent requires a high salary smells just a little like blackmail.

The salary increases are further nonsense when considered alongside other budget measures the mayor proposed earlier this year, all in the name of fiscal restraint - under-funding our schools and cutting funding to valued non-profit organizations like the tourism and marketing council and the small business development center. The borough assembly wisely rejected those measures.

Taxpayers are justifiably angry when they see their money spent in ways they could never dream of experiencing themselves, regardless of the financial health of the government. When taxpayers discover revelations like these salary increases, they start wondering what else needs to be put under the microscope.

The public shouldn't have to delve into the intricacies of the borough budget. We should be able to trust elected officials to exhibit good judgment and prudent stewardship. That's the heart of the matter.