Councillors must accept pay hikes? Not true.

31 AUGUST 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

After the Taxpayers’ Union challenged Councillors and Mayors across the country to refuse their latest pay hike, Remuneration Authority Chair Fran Wilde today emailed every councillor saying they have “no ability to decline all or part” of their pay, “nor can your council instruct your chief executive to not pay any increase”.

Ms Wilde went on to tell councillors “If people want to donate part of their after-tax pay to charity, that is their own choice”.

Responding to Ms Wilde’s comments, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says, “When the Taxpayers’ Union received Ms Wilde’s email, we immediately called Ms Wilde to seek a clarification. She confirmed that, while the law requires councils to pay the full salary, Mayors and Councillors can in fact donate the (after-tax) additional remuneration back to councils.”

“We are disappointed that the Remuneration Authority appears to be trying to convince councillors that they must accept pay hikes. It’s simply not true. There is nothing stopping councillors from acknowledging pressure on ratepayers by effectively freezing their own pay, just as members of Parliament have wisely done.”

Editor’s note: A number of Mayors and Councillors from across New Zealand have contacted the Taxpayers’ Union to say they will be rejecting the most recent pay hikes by donating the extra money back to councils. The Taxpayers’ Union will publish the names of those that wish to be recognised for standing with ratepayers, once the arrangements have been made and verified.

The average Mayoral and Councillor salary is increasing by 3.9 percent. The inflation rate is currently 1.5 percent.

ENDS

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