There are 20 new coronavirus cases in New Zealand as PM Jacinda Ardern reveals all Government ministers and public sector chief executives will take a 20 per cent pay cut.
Tauranga's mayor will become the latest to donate a portion of his pay to charity after wider calls for elected members to do the same.
Last week Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Government ministers and public sector chief executives would take a 20 per cent pay cut for six months.
At the time mayor Tenby Powell told the Bay of Plenty Times he planned to follow suit and was seeking advice from Local Government New Zealand as to how that could occur under legislation.
Councillors' salary pools are allocated by the Remuneration Authority and councillors can't take pay cuts but can make voluntary salary donations.
He has since revealed he will take a 20 per cent pay reduction in the form of a donation but will not ask the council's executive team to do the same.
"It is my intention to donate to a cause or causes that offer support to our homeless as under the banner of the Mayoral Taskforce on Homelessness.
"I will not be asking the chief executive or the TCC executive to follow suit as their skill sets are essential and they have been working very long hours throughout the lockdown period as we continue to offer a greater range of support services to our residents while re-positioning ourselves under extremely tight fiscal constraints going forward."
Elected members are paid from a set pool of money determined by the Remuneration Authority. In Tauranga, that amount is $1,105,920.
Powell's salary of $166,500 sits outside the pool. Twenty per cent of his salary is $33,300.
Western Bay mayor Garry Webber this week stood by previous statements saying there were no plans for executive team pay cuts and that councillors "earn every last cent" of their $40,022 salaries.
Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber. Photo / File
He was confident councillors would donate to organisations if they wanted to.
In Rotorua, one of the district's lowest-paid councillors, Reynold Macpherson, donated $11,000 to the Rotorua Salvation Army, 20 per cent of his $55,000 salary before tax.
Macpherson said he and his wife Nicki made the decision to donate a lump sum from their savings to the Salvation Army because it was a charity they were already affiliated with - Nicki volunteers there twice a week. He was one of at least four Rotorua councillors to donate part of their salary.
Rotorua councillor Reynold Macpherson with wife Nicki. Photo / Andrew Warner
"Our people are suffering and charities like Salvation Army are moving heaven and earth to stretch their scarce resources to help families survive."
Macpherson urged councillors who were undecided on whether to donate part of their salary to "move quickly because our people need help now".
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said everyone had an obligation to consider personal circumstances and contribute where and how they could.
"Both the chief executive and I have continuously been assessing our individual donations and we have both increased these considerably at this time."
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick and Rotorua Lakes Council chief executive Geoff Williams. Photo / File
Chadwick said individuals were free to donate to causes of their choice.
She previously said "trying to publicly shame people into a political gesture" was "morally indefensible".
Bay of Plenty Regional Council's senior leadership team of six people has foregone salary increases in the coming financial year and its member are donating 10 per cent of their salaries for a six-month period.
Chief executive Fiona McTavish said they were considering supporting the Acorn Foundation to ensure the donation was directed to those in the region.
She said staff and councillors could also anonymously donate to the fund via the council's payroll system and the council was waiting on a Remuneration Authority determination on any changes to elected member salaries.
In the Eastern Bay, Ōpōtiki mayor Lyn Riesterer referred the Bay of Plenty Times to statements made by her and the Kawerau and Whakatāne mayors in a Local Democracy article.
In it Riesterer said she would not be asking staff and councillors to take a pay cut "at a time when their households need it most" but she encouraged them to make voluntary donations to charity if they wanted to.
Kawerau mayor Malcolm Campbell and Whakatāne mayor Judy Turner did not take a firm stance on the issue.
Campbell said staff members' commitment to the council and to the safety of the public needed to be acknowledged.
Turner said provincial councils such as those in the Eastern Bay were already at the lowest end of the remuneration scale and council staff were working incredibly hard.
"Our staff are working at home and will be for some time to come; we need to consider how this impacts on them and their families."
