Last nights Lismore Council meeting saw the mayor and
councillors debate how much they are worth, in dollars, to the
people of their electorate, and they voted on the merits of a
rise in their stipend.
The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal each year
determines the range of annual fees to be paid to Mayors and
Councillors. Council needs to resolve within the category range the
fees to be paid.
The recommendation was that the fees payable to the
mayor and councillors for 2023/2024 be upped to $64,390 for the
mayor and and $26,070 for the councillors, including the mayor in
his role as a councillor.
The current rate is around $61k for the mayor (plus a councillor
stipend) and around $24k for councillors
An often debated issue
Cr Elly Bird spoke first. Weve had this debate in the
chamber a number of times. Ill just direct councillors to the
attachments where there is the report from the annual determination
of local government, remuneration tribunal.
There are some pretty succinct points for the reasons
for adopting the appropriate fee for councillors.
Firstly, that current remuneration levels do not
adequately reflect the hours and complexity of work. Furthermore,
low remuneration is a barrier to participation in diversity.
Inadequate pay has significant negative consequences, low quality,
low democracy and unacceptable burden on councillors and their
families and poor counsellor diversity.
And thirdly, the current remuneration principles and
structure are not reflective of time skills and competencies
required to effectively perform the roles of councillor and
mayor.
Keeping things the same
Cr Andrew Gordon foreshadowed a motion that the
status quo, the current stipend, should remain.
Councillor Ekins, who attended the meeting remotely,
said she could not believe that this same issue and its ensuing
debate rears its head every year.
Were in front of nearly 1,000 page documents that we
read and comprehended. And were still here at 9.30 at night talking
about these matters. And that doesnt include all the committee
meetings, and all the inquiries that we have from the community and
all that we work hard for this small amount of money.
Council has a $4 million increase in our wages bill
this year, wages that we pay for our staff, more than the rates
that we receive from our ratepayers. That just puts it into
perspective that we are the cheapest part of this organisation and
it really upsets me when other councillors sugg...