On Wednesday, the district council met to determine how it should distribute a set amount allocated by the Remuneration Authority for councillors — bar the mayor.
The council decided to bump councillor pay by approximately 1.3%, from $40,843 to $41,360.
Deputy mayor Christine Menzies’ salary jumped from $53,096 to $62,040.
A report prepared for the meeting said Ms Menzies’ sum was 1.5 times that of a base councillor’s pay and noted the workload would likely continue increasing in the new triennium.
Mayor Rob Scott’s salary was directly determined by the Remuneration Authority and increased from $145,222 to $152,473.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Scott said some media had been ‘‘having some fun’’ with the fact councillors were setting their remuneration, but the pool was decided in Wellington and had to be fully spent.
The base salary for a city councillor jumps from $45,717 to $54,347, while the deputy mayor will now earn $81,521.
Invercargill Mayor Tom Campbell’s salary was set at $165,687 by the Remuneration Authority.
Pay for the city council’s mana whenua representatives has proven a talking point and was ultimately set by elected members at $49,275, about $5000 less than what councillors earn.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
