Shellharbour mayor Marianne Saliba’s pay could double – to as much as $116,000 – if her push to have the council reclassified is given the green light by a local government tribunal.
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Mayor Marianne Saliba has written to the NSW Local Government Remuneration Tribunal (LGRT) – the body responsible for determining councillors’ annual fees and council categories – urging it to consider upgrading Shellhabour’s status.
Shellharbour council is currently defined as a regional-rural council by the LGRT; the same as Kiama.
However, Cr Saliba told this week’s council meeting that the city was growing at a significant rate.
The mayor said she believed the categorisation of councils was “too broad” and didn’t accurately reflect the amount of work done by councillors covering a larger population.
Cr Saliba has asked the LGRT to review Shellharbour council’s status and move it up one classification level to “regional strategic area”.
The reclassification would see Shellharbour’s mayor and councillors receive a significant pay rise.
According to the LGRT, councillors from a regional-rural council can be paid a maximum of $19,700 a year. On top of that, the mayor can receive an additional fee of up to $43,170.
Should the reclassification be approved, regional strategic area councillors can be paid up to $29,670 per annum.
The mayor would be entitled to an additional $86,440, meaning Cr Saliba could be paid up to $116,110 – almost double her current remuneration, which is capped at $62,960.
“I certainly can’t speak on behalf of other councillors, but I can say that my role as mayor is a full-time position and the remuneration is not for a full-time mayor,” Cr Saliba told the meeting.
“If I wasn’t subsidised in another way financially, it would be very difficult.
“When I move on, there will be other people that will come into these roles and if we want people to be able to give their all to the job then we need to be expecting them to at least be appropriately remunerated for their commitment.”
Only two councils in NSW are currently classifed as regional strategic areas – Central Coast and Lake Macquarie.
According to the LGRT, regional strategic areas “are differentiated from councils in the regional-rural category on the basis of their significant population”.
Regional strategic areas typically have a population of more than 200,000. Shellharbour has about 70,000 residents and Kiama’s population is about 22,000.
All councillors voted in favour of Cr Saliba’s submission to the LGRT, except Peter Moran.
Cr Moran said the number of councillors was due to increase from seven to nine when council wards are introduced at the 2020 election.
“We face many of the same pressures that other councils face,” he said.
“I don’t think that there’s anything special about the challenges that this council faces, especially with the fact that we’re significantly increasing in percentage terms the number of councillors as from 2020.
“I don’t think there’s any need for us to be moved from the current categorisation.”
In 2013, Cr Saliba told the Mercury she feared increasing remuneration for mayors and councillors could be used as an incentive for councils to amalgamate.
Shellharbour council was spared a merger with Wollongong City Council two years ago.
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
