ONLY months after handing themselves a 22 per cent pay rise, councillors at Queanbeyan are now seeking to change the way in which salaries are set in NSW.

In June, councillors voted to bump up their own pay packets from a mid point in the allowable range to the maximum amount in accordance with the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal’s recent annual report.

Councillors now make $25,310 a year – a 22 per cent increase – while the mayor’s total fee has increased by 33 per cent to $87,820.

The Local Government Act requires councils to pay an annual fee to councillors and mayors, however the Remuneration Tribunal sets a minimum and maximum amount for those fees.

Now councillors will put a motion before the state’s local government body calling for an amendment to the Local Government Act to remove the terms of a “minimum and maximum range” from the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal.

The motion, put forward by councillor Edwina Webster, suggests an annual determination of only one fee be payable to councillors, members of county councils and mayors in each category.

Webster argues that by moving the amendment it will remove the perception that councillors were awarding themselves a pay increase.

“A determination of a range, with a minimum and maximum creates a difficult debate for council with some public perception that councillors are awarding themselves a large wage increase, if they determine to accept the maximum,” Webster said.

“Simple amendments to delete words as shown in the relevant sections in the Local Government Act (1993), would resolve this matter, and remove any doubt of a conflict of interest from the council decision making process.”

Despite previously voting in favour of a pay increase, councillor Bryce Wilson said it was “stupid”  that councillors were expected to endorse their own pay rises.

“Other levels of government are not required to vote on their own fees, it’s a stupid situation where we have to decide our own range,” said Wilson.

“It doesn’t happen in state parliament, it doesn’t happen in federal parliament…this is something that we have been trying to fix for sometime.”

In a statement to CityNews, Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council’s (QPRC) general manager Rebecca Ryan said:

“QPRC councillors don’t believe it is appropriate for them to vote on the level of remuneration they receive and wish to remove this ambiguity.

“It is more appropriate that the decision on councillor remuneration is solely determined by an independent Local Government Remuneration Tribunal.”