Shellharbour Mayor Marianne Saliba fears that increasing remuneration for mayors and councillors could be used as an incentive for councils to amalgamate.
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Debate over the role of mayors and how much they are paid has arisen in response to the Independent Local Government Review Panel's The Case for Sustainable Change discussion paper.
In a draft response, Wollongong City Council general manager David Farmer suggested it was reasonable mayors leading a large council like Wollongong be remunerated on a full-time basis, perhaps at a level of a state MP.
Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery currently receives a mayoral fee of $74,530 plus a councillor allowance of $25,580.
A state MP's base salary is $143,033.
Wollongong is classified as "a major city" and Cr Bradbery is one of 13 councillors representing a city-wide population of 192,418.
Shellharbour City is classified as a "regional rural" council.
Its seven councillors are paid $17,060 and the mayor receives an annual fee of $37,230. Shellharbour's population is approaching 70,000.
Shoalhaven, with 13 councillors and almost 100,000 people, is also a "regional rural" council.
Kiama, with a population of just over 20,000, is classified as a "rural" council and the municipality's nine councillors receive an allowance of $10,220, with Mayor Brian Petschler given an additional mayoral allowance of $22,310.
Cr Bradbery said he did not believe the role of lord mayor was adequately respected or remunerated.
Cr Saliba said she didn't want to enter into debate over how much a mayor was worth, but did say she worked well beyond a 38-hour week in the role.
"It is not a salary, it is an allowance and anyone who stands does so because of a commitment to the community," she said.
Cr Saliba said that since the number of Shellharbour councillors had been cut from 13 to seven, the role of Shellharbour's councillors had increased significantly; but allowances had not.
She said she was recently in Ipswich in Queensland, where councillors receive a full-time wage.
"It was a carrot dangled in front of their faces to accept amalgamations ... I would be concerned about that tactic being used here," Cr Saliba said.
"I also think the issue regarding remuneration should be through a separate independent remuneration tribunal, not through the local government review panel or by the government itself.
"At the end of the day we need a system that allows a council to be truly reflective of the community."
