Top city government leaders have reached out to the Honolulu Salary Commission for help — and they’re asking to not get a raise this year.

In a March 14 letter to the commission, Managing Director Doug Chin requested no salary increases for the mayor and department directors and deputies across the board.

Here’s a key excerpt from that letter:

We strongly feel any salary increasesreceived by the city’s top administrators at this time would send the wrong message to individuals who have struggled, sacrificed and worked hard to help the city weather tough economic times. It will also send a negative message to struggling members of the public who, quite frankly, will only see the media headline reporting that top city officials received a raise.

More urgently, approving such raises may threaten delicate labor union negotiations which are ongoing right now — if raises are approved for the mayor and his top leaders, the unions may ask, how can the administration take the position that its civil servants should be subject to a pay reduction?