Wyndham councillors have awarded themselves a pay rise.
The council, which is legally required to undertake a review of its mayoral and councillor allowances within six months of a council election or by the next June 30 – whichever is later – voted last week to up the councillor allowance from $28,907 to $29,630 and the mayoral allowance from $92,333 to $94,641.
The rise means Wyndham councillors are paid the highest possible allowance as dictated by the state local government minister.
A council report cited a local government councillor remuneration review panel that concluded that, on average, councillors spent at least 20 hours a week reading papers, attending meetings and committees, and meeting community organisations, residents and ratepayers.
“Given the introduction of new technology and increasing community expectation, it is reasonable to expect that the role has grown substantially since then, particularly in high growth areas such as Wyndham,” the report states.
The allowance rate will remain in place for the duration of the current council term.
Councillor Intaj Khan said councillors worked very hard and put in lots of hours to represent the community.
Cr Khan said that while the councillor rate amounted to less than $10 an hour, he was pleased to see the mayor earn an executive-level salary.
