Media Release

July 8, 2009

Councillors reject meeting fee proposal

Waitakere City councillors have voted against a Remuneration Authority proposal which would see them paid a fee when attending meetings on changes to Auckland governance.

The recommendation by the government- appointed authority involves cutting the pool for elected members’ salaries, which it increased for the 2009-10 year and introducing payments for meetings attended.

The council’s Finance and Operational Performance Committee has said while it does not support the proposal should the authority go through with the changes it requests that the following rules apply to the distribution of the new pool:

• A meeting fee of $233 per half day to be paid to the Mayor, councillors and or community board members involved in any meeting, workshop, joint meeting or other event called for the purpose of discussing regional governance changes.
• That the council’s approved expenses rules also apply to these meetings.

Legislation does not allow the mayor’s salary (set by the authority) to be exceeded and meeting fees cannot be paid to community board members.

“We just don’t think this is fair,” says committee chair Councillor Ross Clow.

“If the authority wants to set aside a funding pool specifically for elected members to attend meetings on regional governance those fees shouldn’t just be paid to councillors but to the mayor and community board members too, who may be required to attend those meetings.”

Mr Clow says this latest proposal has taken councillors by surprise, particularly as they had not wanted to accept the general salary pool increase in the first place.

Waitakere’s elected members have not had a pay increase since 2007.

The authority will make its determination by the end of this month.

ends

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