Rodney Stevens

Clarence Valley Council will put forward a motion at the annual Local Government NSW conference requesting that councillors shouldn’t have to vote annually to determine their own pay rises.

Following the debate over councillors having to determine their own pay rise at the May 23 meeting, Cr Bill Day put forward a motion to the Local Government NSW conference in November 2023 requesting that councillors shouldn’t be determining their own renumeration, which doesn’t happen at other levels of government.

Cr Day’s motion that “council lodge a motion to the next annual conference of Local Government NSW requiring that the NSW government and the NSW Office of Local Government approve the annual determination of the NSW Local Government Remuneration Tribunal with regard to remuneration for Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors without NSW Councillors then being required to vote to accept or endorse that determination” was seconded by Cr Greg Clancy.

When Cr Karen Toms expressed concern that Cr Day’s motion didn’t address the appropriate sections (248 and 249) of the Local Government Act applicable to renumeration for councillors, the motion was amended to include requesting a review of sections 248 and 249 of the Local Government Act.

Speaking for the motion, Cr Day said “as other councillors have said it’s quite outrageous that councillors have to vote for their own remuneration.”

“It’s the only level of government in Australia that has to go through this degrading process,” he said.

“Every year councillors are subject to abuse and ridicule because of this very issue.

“If councils continue to refuse minor increases, we really just open the door to a major increase at some time in the future, something that happened here a couple of years ago.”

The motion was carried unanimously.