A plan for Glen Innes Severn councillors to take a pay cut and donate the savings to a local charity was approved—then overturned—all in the same meeting.
At the 19 June council meeting, councillors first voted in favour of reducing their pay to the lowest level allowed by law and giving the difference to the Glen Innes & District Community Centre. The plan, proposed by Cr Scott, would have seen nearly $43,000 donated over the next year to help support local people doing it tough.
The original proposal was for councillors to be paid about $3,400 less for the year, and that the Mayor take a cut of nearly $19,000. That money would instead be donated each month to the Community Centre for one year, while the centre worked on securing other funding.
However, not everyone supported the plan. Cr Sparks had to leave the room for the vote because she is on the board of the Community Centre and had a conflict of interest. That left five councillors to vote, and the motion passed 3–2.
However, at the end of the meeting, that decision was undone when Mayor Margot Davis instituted a rescission motion and Council was asked to vote again. Cr Sparks again left the room, and Cr Arandale had also stepped out. That left just four councillors present, and the vote was tied 2–2. Mayor Davis then used her casting vote to break the tie and overturn the earlier decision.
The end result is that councillors and the Mayor will now be paid the full amount, and there will be no donation to the Community Centre.
The Mayor and Cr Sparks said they were not given enough time to consider how the pay cut would affect them financially. Mayor Davis also questioned why the Community Centre was named specifically in the proposal, saying it seemed designed to prevent Cr Sparks from voting. “This is something that is trying to target people to not want to continue in office,” she said.
Those who supported the donation believed it was a way for councillors to show leadership and help people in the community during tough times, particularly with the prospect of a significant increase in rates looming.
The decision—and how it came about—illustrate the deep divisions and persistent disunity that continue to plague the Council.
Background
Each year, in June, the council votes on the remuneration for councillors for the next financial year. The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal sets a minimum and maximum amount for the stipend of councillors with an additional figure for the mayor. These amounts set by the Tribunal are dependent on the size and location of the council.
