Council takes pay rise

Alex de Vos
Surf Coast councillors have given themselves 34 per cent pay rises despite concerns among colleagues about setting a bad example during the global financial crisis.
The mayor’s pay will rise by $21,625, while councillors will reap an extra $7018.
The mayoral pay will climb to $68,125 and councillors will earn $22,018.
Councillors backed the pay rises 7-2 at a council meeting last week.
Cr Lindsay Schroeter and Cr Simon Northeast voted against the pay rise.
Cr Schroeter said councillors could not justify giving themselves big pay rises while many Australians were facing redundancy amid the financial crisis.
The crisis worsened for Australians this week when new figures suggested a recession was imminent. Economists have forecasts hundreds of thousands of Australians will lose their jobs.
“The way the economic situation is at the moment, I think we should be setting an example,” Cr Schroeter said.
“We’re hearing of people getting the sack and work being taken overseas and all we can think of is more pay, more pay.”
Cr Schroeter believed councillor allowances should reflect their workload.
“Let’s face it: it’s not a full-time job,” he said.
Cr Schroeter believed councillors should consider their roles a public service rather than a career.
“I believe we’re here to look after the community.
“I became a councillor when I was 33 because I wanted to give something back to my community – back then there was no pay and no telephone.”
Mayor Libby Mears called for the pay increases while serving on the previous council as State Government worked on setting new rates last year.
She said councillors were overworked and underpaid.
Surf Coast Shire’s submission to the Government’s review of councillor remuneration called for a “consistent approach” to pay for councillors across Victoria.
City of Great Geelong’s submission sought a 78 per cent increase on the mayor’s allowance to $92,625 a year and a 61 per cent increase for councillors to $28,996.
However, a council vote earlier this year revealed the pay for Geelong’s mayor would rise by $26,575, while councillors would receive an extra $8319.
The mayor’s total will jump to $77,300, while councillors will reap $24,200.