Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall has requested a pay freeze from the Remuneration Authority. Photo / File
Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall has requested a pay freeze from the Remuneration Authority. Photo / File
While some local body leaders around New Zealand have volunteered to take pay cuts, the mayors of Whanganui, Rangitikei and Ruapehu have all been more circumspect in their responses to the Covid-19 crisis.
Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall has asked the Government's Remuneration Authority to consider a pay freeze for thedistrict's elected members for the 2020-2021 year.
And Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron and Rangitikei Mayor Andy Watson said they have reduced their own salaries by increasing regular donations to voluntary agencies within their communities and neither felt it appropriate to ask councillors to accept pay cuts.
"Some of them don't get paid very much and they may have lost other employment and business income so I wouldn't be asking them to do that now," Cameron said.
"They will be required to help lead the region out of the Covid crisis and they deserve remuneration for that."
The Remuneration Authority sets the pay for local government representatives and key office holders such as judges, Members of Parliament and some independent statutory bodies in New Zealand. It is required by law to be fair and independent.
Authority chairwoman Dame Fran Wilde wrote to all New Zealand local authorities this week to inform them that under the law they cannot reduce their own pay.
She said the Remuneration Authority is not allowed to reduce it from the current level.
"We also told them that like everyone else we are aware the Government is thinking about these issues, especially in light of the media around local government, and we advised that they should wait till we all find out if the Government has decided to make any changes to the law."
Pay levels across New Zealand's 78 local councils vary from more than $290,000 a year for the mayor of the country's biggest city to just $2000 for some rural community board members.
Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron says donating a portion of his wages to local charities keeps the money in the community. Photo / File
McDouall said the Whanganui District Council has no authority over elected member remuneration.
"The amounts paid depend on the size of each role and the time commitment expected of each elected member," McDouall said.
"I have discussed the issue with councillors and there was a consensus agreement that we should not receive a pay rise when many in our community will be suffering financial hardship."
The council's chief executive, Kym Fell, has indicated that he will not accept any increases to his salary for the rest of his contract term, which ends in January 2023.
McDouall said he did not include the Whanganui Rural Community Board in his request.
"I have not consulted the board and it has long been my belief that the board members have been significantly underpaid for their work and their commitment to communities, and the distances they must travel to represent the rural sector.
"For many in our community, the ability to cover council rates is becoming more difficult. All councils are looking to balance this cost to the community with the need to continue the work they are currently undertaking as well as planning for the future."
Rangitikei Mayor Andy Watson is asking councillors to consider cost-saving initiatives to fund assistance to ratepayers. Photo / File
Watson said the Rangitikei District Council will discuss a variety of possibilities to assist ratepayers and local businesses and he is asking councillors to think about ways to save money in order to fund the support.
"The district has such a mix of businesses - a number of agricultural producers who are doing well and at the other extreme small business owners who are really struggling.
"I have asked councillors to consider a range of relief options for local business and individual ratepayers and those may include rates relief or deferment and the establishment of a mayoral relief fund."
Watson is updating constituents via the council website and has posted three videos on past, present and proposed efforts by the council to help manage the effects of the Covid-19 level 4 lockdown.
Both Watson and McDouall said they are grateful for the existence of the Remuneration Authority.
"We need an independent body, otherwise you may have a situation where a person stands for mayor and says they don't want to be paid which would mean that only those willing to work without pay are likely to be elected," Watson said.
McDouall agreed and said it would set a bad precedent.
"It would be really bad if the only people who could stand would be those who could afford not to be paid."
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta said a move to reduce remuneration for local bodies would require an amendment to the Remuneration Authority Act and the Local Government Act.
"Work to facilitate this is being actively considered," Mahuta said.
McDouall said he opted to request a freeze on the current rates rather than pay cuts because that could be achieved without amending the Acts.
