Pay rise for Carterton councillors

A 3 pc pay rise for Carterton councillors was determined by the Remuneration Authority. PHOTO/FILE

Carterton councillors will receive a 3 per cent pay increase in the coming financial year.

The pay rise was determined by the Remuneration Authority, which sets the base councillor and mayoral salaries at the beginning of each election year.

Elected representatives in larger metropolitan areas this year received a 1.5 per cent increase while other councils on a lower rate, such as Carterton, got the bigger increase.

In the last financial year councillors received $16,800 per annum. As of July 1, this will increase to $17,304.

The mayor's remuneration goes up from $63,700 to $65,611.

The deputy mayor's pay will increase from $21,840 to $22,495.

The Remuneration Authority also gave the council an additional pool of $34,608 to be distributed for extra duties.

Council on Wednesday voted to continue to allocate some of this to the deputy mayor.

They also approved $2500 extra for the Ruamahanga Whaitua Committee representative, to bring that into line with the other Wairarapa councils.

It was decided the remaining funds would be assigned once the council's committee structure was determined after this year's election.

Councillor Mike Ashby, who sits on the Ruamahanga Whaitua Committee, abstained from voting.