What will our councillors be paid?

Central Coast Council Administrator Rik Hart received more than $180,000 in salary and expenses for the last six months of 2023.

Tabled at the June Council meeting, the money included $147,690 in salary for the period July 1-December 31; $22,723 in Central Coast residential accommodation, $599 for mobile phone expenses and $9,681 for internal expenses – plant and fleet permanent hire.

Hart’s salary for six months is more than the next Mayor will be paid in a year.

But Hart’s role as administrator is to replace the entire elected team so in that sense, he is cheaper than 15 councillors.

Councillors were suspended on October 30, 2020, after significant cash flow issues were announced, and interim Administrator Dick Persson was appointed.

Current Administrator Hart was appointed as acting CEO by Persson and then in May 2021 he replaced Persson as the Administrator.

The Office of Local Government advised in its appointment letter to Hart that his salary and reasonable out-of-pocket expenses would be paid by Council during the period of his appointment.

Reports to Council on Administrator expenses and facilities are provided every six months, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial half year (June 30 and December 31 each year).

Council said this report was later than scheduled but it expected the January 1-June 31, 2024, report to be provided on time in August.

Hart approved the rates that the councillors will be paid after the September 14 elections.

The State Government’s Local Government Remuneration Tribunal set the minimum and maximum rates for councils in April, and in May Hart adopted the maximum rates that take effect from July 1.

For the Central Coast, the maximum a councillor can receive is $35,620.

The mayor can receive a maximum of $110,970.

The Local Government Act is clear that councillors and mayors receive an annual fee, not a wage, and that fees paid do not constitute a salary.

The Central Coast is categorised as a Major Strategic Area but non-metropolitan, the only council in the category.

Councillors have not previously been paid superannuation but they will now get 11.5 per cent.

This rate will increase by half a per cent to 12 per cent on July 1, 2025.

The superannuation contribution payment is to be paid at the same intervals as the annual fee is paid to councillors.

The overall cost impact to Council’s budget will be $645,720.

These fees have been included in the budget for the 2024/2025 financial year, Council said at the May meeting.

Councillors may decide to elect a deputy mayor but that fee must be deducted from the mayor’s annual fee.

The report adopted by Hart in May proposed that $10,000 be paid to the deputy mayor from the mayor’s annual fee, which is just over four weeks of the mayoral annual fee, the workplace standard annual leave entitlement.

The May meeting also adopted a suite of Policies for Councillors which lists the rules and regulations they will operate under.

Councillors will also be able to recover some costs associated with being a councillor such as general travel costs to a maximum of $5,000 per councillor and carer expenses up to $8,000 per councillor.

See more on the Council website under Councillor Expenses.

Merilyn Vale