North Sydney Councillors vote to receive maximum paycheck ... but how much is that, exactly?

North Sydney Councillors have voted to award themselves the maximum pay available for their position. The decision has drawn criticism from both councillors and community members. But how big is this controversial paycheque?

What are councillor fees?

Councillor and mayor fees essentially act as the wages paid to councillors. 

In order to decide how much councillors should be paid, each year the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal sets a minimum and maximum fee. Councillors decide themselves what amount between these figures they should be paid.

At the latest council meeting, North Sydney Councillors voted 7-3 to set their fee to the maximum figure. The decision was opposed by Councillors Spenceley, Keen, and Carr, who proposed setting the fee to its minimum, citing the significant financial issues North Sydney Council is currently facing.

Let’s see the money.

The fee accepted by North Sydney Council amounted to $29,950 annually for councillors, and $78,480 annually for Mayor Zoë Baker. 

The dissenting councillors, on the other hand, proposed a fee of $15,830 and $33,630 for councillors and the mayor, respectively.

It’s hard to make much of these figures without knowing how many hours councillors are working. 

According to the NSW Office of Local Government, the majority of councillors' time is spent preparing for and attending meetings, reading council business papers, and reviewing plans, policies and budgets. 

In addition to this, of course, councillors will often spend significant amounts of time speaking to and consulting with their community. They will also likely spend time in various committees and attending civic events such as citizenship ceremonies and community fundraisers.

How much time does all that take up?

The exact hours worked a week varies between different councils and councillors. The best way to find out, really, is to just ring up your local councillors and ask.

“A typical week for me is 25 to 30 hours a week, on top of a full-time job”, Councillor Matthew Devlin of Ku-ring-gai told the Lorikeet.

“If you broke down what you’re left with at the end of the month, versus the hours you put in, it’s less than minimum wage.”

Councillor Anna Greco of Willoughby told the Lorikeet that “I have never in my life worked so many hours. I couldn't even count.”

“This is definitely a volunteer job. I have to say, any councillor would be working more than their remuneration.”

Greco told us that depending on how busy the period is, councillors can expect to work between twenty and thirty hours a week.

The fee Ku-ring-gai and Willoughby councillors were paid for the last financial year was $28,690, annually.

Image credit: North Sydney Council