Yesterday, the council met to set its committee structure and remuneration and agree on reimbursements and allowances.
The authority had ruled that councillors had to travel more than 30km to be reimbursed and up to 5000km per member would be automatically paid out, at a maximum rate of 70c a kilometre.
Council chief executive Graeme Martin said that meant the council would have to seek special approval for those councillors who regularly travelled over that amount.
It was estimated Cromwell-based Cr Duncan Butcher travelled about 20,000km a year, Alexandra-based Cr Gerry Eckhoff 16,000km and Moeraki's Cr Doug Brown, 10,000km.
The council also agreed to take up the new travel-time allowance, which would allow councillors to claim $15 an hour for every hour travelled over two hours.
Cr Butcher said the council had submitted on the need for a travel-time allowance and the new payment was "a step in the right direction".
The distance he and other out-of-town councillors travelled meant they could not return to their daily lives as quickly as city-based councillors did, he said.
"It recognises this, in some small way."
Cr Eckhoff said there was an element of "public good" in being a councillor and the price of fuel was high.
The councillors also agreed that the council policy of providing computing equipment and broadband, where needed, would remain.
