Feedback invited on Mayor and Councillor Allowances
Published on 01 June 2021
Residents are invited to provide feedback on the allowance Central Goldfields Shire Mayor and Councillors receive for serving their community.
At a Meeting of Council last week (25/05), Council endorsed for public submissions a proposal to set the annual allowances at $21,049 for Councillors a year and $62,884 for the Mayor. This allowance is also subject to an additional 9.5% in superannuation.
Under the Local Government Act, Victorian Councils are designated as either category 1, 2 or 3 councils – based on population and annual revenue – with Central Goldfields Shire a category one Council.
The categories set parameters for the allowance limit and the proposed amounts are at 100% of the uppermost allowance limit within the category 1 range.
Allowances are to compensate Councillors for the duties they perform as an elected representative. These duties include attending meetings, representing the community at functions and making decisions for the benefit of the municipality.
Central Goldfields Shire Mayor Cr Chris Meddows-Taylor stressed that these allowance levels did not represent an increase, but simply proposed to peg them for the new Council at the same level which had applied over many years and are in line with similar size shires in rural Victoria.
“Residents ask if there is no change why do we put these out for comment and the answer is it’s a core part of transparency requirements - residents should know how much their Mayor and Councillors are proposed to be paid and have the opportunity to comment on it.”
With a Remuneration Tribunal to be introduced as part of the implementation of the Local Government Act 2020, in future the Tribunal will determine the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillor allowances for all municipalities across the State.
Until then the allowances framework under the previous Local Government Act apply and so residents are invited to provide feedback before the final Mayoral and Councillor allowances re determined at a Special Meeting of Council on Tuesday 29 June.
Submissions are invited by 5pm, Friday 25 June and can be provided via:
Community members who make a submission, and wish to be heard at a Submissions Hearing Meeting on Tuesday 22 June at 5pm, can register to do so by contacting Council’s General Manager Corporate Performance Mick Smith on mick.smith@cgoldshire.vic.gov.au or 0428 904 045 by Friday 18 June at 5pm.