West Coast Regional Councillors are getting a hefty pay rise this term — whether they like it or not.
The new rates set by the Remuneration Authority mean a councillor's pay goes up from $36,000 a year before the election,
to $51,000.
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The Authority has decreed the chairman must be paid $83,000 and a pool of $317,737 must be allocated to the other six
positions.
By law there is no option to take less: the only decision left for councillors to make on the subject at yesterday's
meeting was how much to pay the deputy chairman, who heads the council's Resource Management Committee.
The council agreed on a relativity of 75% of the chairman's remuneration, pushing the deputy's pay up from $42,000 last
term to $62,000.
Corporate Services Manager Robert Mallinson said he knew some councillors were deeply uncomfortable about their pay rise
but by law they had no choice in the matter.