Outrageous. Disgraceful. Obscene.

That's what comes to mind when taxpayers hear that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez handed hefty pay raises to a dozen people on his staff during a recession and as the county's housing foreclosure rate was sure to bring down tax revenue.

Even before the mayor knew the county would face a $427 million budget hole he was telling residents in February, during his State of the County address, that ``tough times'' were ahead and ``we are all in this together.''

As reported in The Miami Herald on Sunday by Matthew Haggman and Jack Dolan, 12 employees on the mayor's staff received raises of more than 10 percent since last year. But those raises didn't show up when Commissioner Sally Heyman asked the mayor's office for a list of salaries and executive benefits packages in July. Mrs. Heyman wanted to see if the mayor's office personnel's salaries are out of whack with the rank and file.

They certainly smell.

Why wasn't that information handed to the commissioner? Apparently, she didn't ask the right question. She asked for mayoral staff's salaries in January and currently. Because some of the raises were retroactive and others delivered in the fall of 2008, those raises and perks didn't show up on the list.

The mayor maintains that the raises were necessary after voters approved a strong-mayor system, which was supposed to merge the county administrator's department with his office. Several positions were lost -- the county manager's office is down by three high-level assistants -- and other staffers took on more work. And some staffers who received raises, such as spokeswoman Victoria Mallette, still earn less than their predecesors by a considerable amount.

Mr. Alvarez has delivered about $1.7 million in savings in his staff budget -- now $7.9 million from $9.6 million when he was first elected. But his rationale to increase his top people's salaries to keep up with the county manager's staff's ever-escalating salary levels is irresponsible during this economic downturn.

Commissioners will want to see the mayor squirm during upcoming budget negotiations, as they try to please county workers and unions already complaining about a 5 percent proposed cut in their wages. But the County Commission's staff of about 200 also seems too big for the times.

Instead of pointing fingers at one another, everyone needs to suck it up and tighten the belt. That means the mayor's staff, the county administrator's staff and the commissioners' staffs, too, along with all county employees.

And it may mean that those making more than, say, $100,000 should take a 10 percent cut and submit their benefits packages for renegotiation. County employees earning less than $100,000 should take a lesser cut, somewhere between 5 and 10 percent. Those are the types of tough choices ahead.

``We have to be prepared to live with the funding our citizens are willing to support,'' Mr. Alvarez told employees when he released his budget recommendation this summer.

He can start by setting the example at the top.