Napier mayor Bill Dalton's pay stopped as he recovers from stroke

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton will no longer receive pay while he recovers from his stroke. Photo / Supplied

Napier mayor Bill Dalton will no longer be paid while he recovers from a stroke he had in April.

Napier City Council voted unanimously to cut Dalton's pay at a meeting on May 14 based on the advice from the Remuneration Authority.

Dalton, who has been mayor since 2013, has an annual salary of $131,514.

Deputy Mayor Faye White has assumed the duties of mayor while Dalton recovers.

Napier City Council CEO Wayne Jack said the Local Government Members Determination is quite clear that when a person is performing the full duties of Acting Mayor they must receive full remuneration and benefits for undertaking those duties.

"The issue then becomes that payment cannot be made to two people."

Dalton was paid for one meeting cycle (four weeks), with payments ceasing on May 15.

Elected members are not considered employees but independent contractors. This means they often are not entitled to sick leave.

A spokesperson for Napier City Council said the Remuneration Authority's position of pay only being cut after one meeting cycle was quite generous.

"The Remuneration Authority's position that the salary implication is only triggered after a full meeting cycle of absence is a more generous approach than most contractors receive."

They said the vote occurred after extensive discussion.

US ambassador Scott Brown and wife Gail met mayor Bill Dalton and wife Shirley at Hawke's Bay Hospital. Photo / Supplied

"Our councillors understand that while it is a difficult situation, they are all the equivalent of independent contractors.

"As is normal for contractors, they do not receive annual or sick leave allocations, and if they are unable to fulfil their duties for any reason they do not get paid for them. The person fulfilling them does."

Remuneration Authority chairwoman Dame Fran Wilde said elected members did not have a safety net.

"That's how it is. We can't change that."

She said legally if someone is fulfilling another person's role, they need to be paid for it.

She said Dalton's situation was unfortunate, but council was right to decide not to pay two mayors at the same time.

Dalton does not yet have a date planned to return to work. Prior to his stroke, he announced he was not planning to re-seek election in this year's local government elections.

The council decision was made while the public was excluded from the meeting.