Demand for fair council pay

The push is being lead by Murrumbidgee Council - a neighbour of Edward River Council, which incorporates the communities of Jerilderie, Coleambally and Darlington Point.

It will put a motion to the Local Government NSW annual conference next month demanding that a new pay rate model be adopted across all NSW local government categories.

Murrumbidgee’s push comes just weeks after Edward River Council councillors argued for a revision of the pay system when adopting the maximum allowable pay increase for this financial year.

A number of ERC councillors said they did not feel the pay for rural councillors was adequate to cover the work they’re required to do, or incentivise participation in local government elections in the future.

Murrumbidgee general manager John Scarce, in his report to the September council meeting, described the current pay system for NSW as “gross underpayment” - especially compared to Queensland, where he previously worked.

“You want at least a wage where a mayor or councillor is not losing money by turning up to council business yet, as it is, neither a mechanic nor a solicitor could pay for a replacement when on council business,” Mr Scarce said in his report.

“The problem is not that the tribunal provides wage increases, the problem is that the starting point of the councillor remuneration is grossly under what it should be.”

The ‘Non-Metropolitan Rural’ pay rate for this financial year, under the current system, is $13,930 a year for councillors, with an additional fee of $30,390 for the mayor.

Based on Queensland’s Local Government Remuneration Tribunal’s decision, Mr Scarce has suggested councillors with NSW rural categorised councils - like ERC, Murrumbidgee and Berrigan Shire - receive annual remuneration of $60,270.

The deputy mayor’s fee would be a total of $69,543, and mayor would receive $120,541 per annum.

This is the lowest rated category, with pays increasing for other categories of councils.

To support the motion to the conference, Mr Scarce said examples of pay inequity have been researched.

“A Local Land Services chair receives $10,000 a year, while a board member receives $5,000 a year,” he said.

“We have reviewed the legislation surrounding the responsibility of the LLS chair and board, we have reviewed their obligations and the amount of time they need to commit.

“Like mayors and councillors, some chairs and board members will spend more time than others, but, on a rough estimate of responsibility, the LLS Board is about five per cent of what is expected of a mayor or councillor.”

Mr Scarce also used the pay for members of an Audit Risk & Improvement Committee (ARIC) - which provides guidance to councils - as a comparison.

The fees are set by the Office of Local Government, and for a small council the ARIC chair remuneration is $12,552 per annum and members get $1,255 per meeting day.

“Murrumbidgee Council has had an ARIC since amalgamation. It meets four times a year for a maximum of three hours.

“So, an ARIC member will receive $418 an hour and the chair $1,000 an hour.

“We have determined that our councillors spend, on average, 144 hours a year and the mayor closer to 290 hours a year just on prescribed meetings (not including functions in the community) - in maths terms, and using the ARIC fees as a guide, a councillor should receive $60,192 and the mayor $290,000.

“If the Minister was happy to sign off on a publication that suggests these ARIC amounts, I would assume that those who are responsible for far more than just the ARIC, would be entitled to competitive remuneration.”

Murrumbidgee’s motion on remuneration was endorsed by the council, and will be submitted to the Local Government NSW Conference in Sydney from November 23-25.

Motions endorsed at the conference are then championed by Local Government NSW with decision makers.