Pay rise for Masterton mayor, councillors

Masterton mayor Lyn Patterson is in line for a salary increase of 3 per cent and her councillors will get a 2.3 per cent pay rise.

Masterton mayor Lyn Patterson is in line for a salary increase of 3 per cent, taking her council pay to $88,000 a year and her councillors likewise face a base salary increase of 2.3 per cent to $22,600.

Payment is set by the Remuneration Authority, a body designated by central government to set salaries for local government elected members and the new rates are expected to come into force from July 1. The Remuneration Authority has advised Mrs Patterson and councillors the new pay rates have been set using four criteria.

These are:

a reassessment of council size and expenditure

allowing for general wage growth between 2013 and 2014

applying techniques to dampen down large decreases or increases

ensuring no reductions result from the other three criteria

The councillors' increase equates to an extra $500 a year each.

A full meeting of council tomorrow is expected to confirm the increases and also agree to a new arrangement for Mrs Patterson's access to a council car. Mrs Patterson has not got a mayoral car but is now likely to have a pool car allocated to her.

This will mean the car will be available for use by council staff or councillors as part of the council's car fleet but will be driven home by Mrs Patterson and garaged. She will not be entitled to use it for personal use. Until now Mrs Patterson has been using a pool car for out of town trips and that has stretched the availability of cars for staff to use. A recommendation will go to full council for an extra car to be added to the fleet to meet the demand for vehicles.