The public will be forking out for a pay rise of more than 9 per cent for the Masterton district councillors' pay pool after this year's elections.
The Masterton mayor's salary will be increased by 5.3 per cent giving Garry Daniell, if he is re-elected, just over an extra $4000 a year.
It takes the mayoral salary from $81,100 to $85,400.
Mr Daniell said he was embarrassed by the pay rise imposed on the council. "The process is not determined by the councils, it's determined by the Remuneration Authority so it's out of the hands of the councils.
"It's always embarrassing when these things happen, but right throughout the country mayors and councillors are obliged to accept that outcome," Mr Daniell said.
He said the mayoral pay rise was more than he had anticipated. "In fact, I was surprised that any increase at all had been determined."
Mr Daniell said the pay rates of the Masterton councillors were moderate.
"I think that for the effort that they [the councillors] put into our community that their pay rates are very moderate, and I imagine that the Remuneration Authority is aware of that as well and has made a determination according to their belief."
The authority sets the pay for local government elected members. A pool of $339,550 will be available for councillors and the mayor for the 2013 post-election period. This is $20,000 more than was available last year.
The Remuneration Authority recommended the base councillor salary be $22,100. The base salary is the lowest rate of councillor salary, with meeting fees spread evenly among councillors.
That is just over $1000 more than the 2012 base salary.
In a letter, Remuneration Authority chairman John Errington wrote that, without limiting any large increases or decreases, the base councillor salary would have increased by almost $4000.
"Which was considered to be too large an increase, would have had too great an adverse impact on ratepayers, and could be regarded as denigrating the position for retiring councillors.
"Therefore the increase has been limited to $1327.
"The base salary set for your council, in our view, fairly recompenses a councillor who spends on average between one and two days a week undertaking councillor duties over a three-year period," he wrote.
In comparison the Wellington mayor will get $158, 300 and Wellington city councillors will get $76,600.