Whanganui council chief executive Kym Fell's salary not 'overly extravagant'

Kym Fell is in the bottom half of council chief executive earners. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui District Council chief executive Kym Fell's salary puts him in the middle of the pack compared with his peers.

Fell's salary of $287,927 makes him the 36th highest paid of New Zealand's 66 council chief executives, sneaking into the bottom half.

The rankings were revealed in a list of chief executive salaries compiled by the Taxpayers' Union which showed Auckland Council's Stephen Town is the highest paid on $690,000.

However, population means the Auckland chief executive's salary costs just $1.16 per ratepayer while Fell's costs $13.44 per Whanganui ratepayer - a higher rate than all but two in the top 10.

But the chief executive at Nelson City, which has an almost the same number of ratepayers as Whanganui, gets $371,669 at a cost of $17.28 per ratepayer.

"Whanganui ratepayers can be satisfied that the council's top salary isn't overly extravagant – at least not compared to other councils," New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Louis Houlbrooke said.

"But considering the region's low house prices, the council needn't rush into approving its next round of pay hikes."

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Click here to read our feature interview with Kym Fell from January.

Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said the ranking seemed about right considering Whanganui was a medium-sized district with some major assets.

Fell's salary was justified given money which had been saved on things like salaries and the wastewater treatment plant in recent years, he said.

"He's worth his weight in gold. He's certainly worth the salary we pay him."

But the Taxpayers' Union argues council chief executives should be scrapped in favour of bringing back "more modestly remunerated" town clerks.

"Unlike businesses, councils have the power to dig endlessly deep into people's pockets. This power should come with a sense of public service."