Posted 3/3/08

MAV reiterates call for moderate rise in councillor allowances

12 February 2008

With the independent panel’s findings of the councillor remuneration review now with the Minister for Local Government, the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has renewed its call for changes to take account of the community’s capacity to pay.

Cr Dick Gross, MAV President said that councillors were long overdue for a review of allowances but any increase must be mindful of the impact on ratepayers, and also retain the community contribution aspects of the role.

“The work of a councillor has changed substantially since the last allowance review in 2000, leading to a dramatic increase in the workload and time commitment required.

“Allowances should reflect this workload change, and also encourage people from all walks of life to participate. By attracting councillors with the broadest life experiences and skill base we will get better representation of diverse community views and hopefully better council decisions.

“But prospective candidates including the young, at-home parents, high income and mid-career professionals must not be excluded from participating in local government due to financial concerns.

“The review must strike a balance between paying councillors what local communities can reasonably afford with an amount that doesn’t discourage certain groups from participating,” he said.

Councillors govern large and complex organisations, collectively managing $40 billion of assets and an average $37 million in revenue per year in a rural council to more than $110 million in a metropolitan council.

Cr Gross said being a councillor was a complex, demanding and often thankless task.

“The reality is that most local elected representatives nominate for the role because they genuinely have a passion and desire to make a difference in their local community.

“However, there’s a risk of diminishing the civic leadership role that is the primary motivator for many councillors if remuneration is set too high.

“The Minister has already indicated superannuation and councillor expenses will be dealt with in his proposed model to be announced soon. This is great news but the MAV believes doubling remuneration is unwarranted. Moderation is the key.

“We’d like to see a more reasonable approach that increases councillor allowances to $20,000, $24,500 and $28,800 for the three existing council categories.

“We’ve also proposed an increase for mayors to $52,700, $64,000 and $75,300, with all allowances to be indexed annually so they grow in line with inflation.

“Our proposal is based on extensive independent research on the demographic and work characteristics of more than 80 per cent of Victoria’s councillors, as well as detailed testing of our model with our 79 financial members and an extensive knowledge of financial pressures facing councils,” he said.

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For further information contact MAV President Cr Dick Gross on 0411 446 167 or the MAV Communications Unit on (03) 9667 5521

Debbie Smith

SenSenior Communications Adviser

MAV

Level 12, 60 Collins St Melbourne  VIC  3000

GPO Box 4326

Ph: 9667 5521

Fx: 9667 5550

Mb: 0414 396 097

Email: dsmith@mav.asn.au

Web: www.mav.asn.au