Noosa councillors are planning a raft of cost-saving measures in the upcoming budget to ease the load on the community.
This includes keeping rates, fees and charges as low as possible and other actions including wage freezes.
The Local Government Remuneration Commission has recommended a 2 per cent increase for Councillor Remuneration from 1 July 2020, but Noosa Council CEO Brett de Chastel, along with Mayor Clare Stewart, have decided to take a “Councillor Remuneration Freeze”.
Mayor Clare Stewart said it was important to “walk the talk” to minimise cost increases in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It simply is the right thing to do given the current economic climate,” Cr Stewart said.
“Many in our community are hurting from the impact of this virus, so we simply need to do what we can to get through this challenge.”
Councillor salaries are set by the Local Government Remuneration Commission and any increase is automatically paid unless the council decides otherwise.
Remuneration for local government is set by the Local Government Remuneration Commission, an independent body that determines the annual remuneration for Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors across the state.
The Commission is currently chaired by former Noosa Mayor Mr Bob Abbot with Mr Reimen Hii and Ms Andrea Ranson as Commission members.
The rest of the councillors will discuss the pay freeze on Tuesday, June 9.
“We are very much part of this community and we are all committed to doing what we can to get through this difficult period,” Noosa Council CEO Brett de Chastel said.
Not taking the 2 per cent pay rise will result in Council saving $11,180.
