Council wants pay based on performance after tribunal imposes 3.5pc increase

Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillors have been gifted a 3.5 per cent pay bump from a State body despite some not wanting it and others asking for more criteria for councillors to earn their allowance.

The Salary and Allowances Tribunal determined a 3.5 per cent increase to councillor attendance fees and annual allowances would come into effect for all elected members in WA from July 1.

Disappointed that councillors only have to attend ordinary council meetings to be eligible for the full allowance, Cr Nardia Turner submitted an alternative motion at Monday night’s meeting to note the increase and request the chief executive write a submission to the tribunal.

The submission would seek the tribunal consider alternative options for payment of allowances based on performance, such as meeting committee attendance key performance indicators or other measures.

Cr Turner said some councillors put in more time than others to fulfil duties above the bare minimum.

She said extra commitments such as committee representation, agenda briefings and community event attendance had become harder to manage because of the decreased number of councillors around the table since State local government reforms came into effect, and those efforts should count towards the allowance.

“Our council now has the same amount of councillors that they do for a local government the size of Menzies that just does not have a budget like we have,” she said.

“It’s a huge amount of work . . . and whilst we have reduced numbers, our quorums have not always reduced equally . . . so we have had people dial in from the side of the road so that we can have a committee quorum.

“And if you’re part of a committee you receive no more or no less and this needs to be resolved and accounted for . . . to better look at how we allow for the disparity in hours that councillors might take.”

Mayor Glenn Wilson during the meeting said council attendance across the State, as reported in the media, “did not meet the pub test”.

When asked by the Kalgoorlie Miner on Tuesday whether he believed his council met the pub test, Mr Wilson said he had his opinion but the ultimate test was “up to the voters”.

“From a community expectation point of view, we have councillors who do meet the requirements,” he said.

“We also have councillors who do probably have other restrictions to meeting the requirements.”

While Cr Turner’s motion was ultimately carried, Cr Terrence Winner voted against it, believing no pay increase should be awarded, and Cr Wayne Johnson did not agree a submission to the tribunal was necessary.

Cr Winner, who previously had a motion passed to have councillor KPIs explored, said increases should be earned and not simply given with “no logical or rational process of assessment” other than “because someone said we could”.

“We cannot in good conscience look at charging people more and expect more out of those we support in one hand, and then with the other hand take an increase with no quantifiable data behind it,” he said.

“It does not sit right with me, and I feel it’s wrong.

“I cannot stress enough how important it is to review and set councillor KPIs alongside reviewing how salaries are actually paid to councillors, to ensure the greatest bang for buck for our community.

“Before any talk of salary increases I’d like to see a review of how salaries are determined to councillors and have them linked to actual measurable outcomes, like meeting attendance alongside the commencement of councillor KPIs.”

Cr Winner then asked chief executive Andrew Brien what impact there would be if the alternate and officer’s recommendation both failed, to which Mr Brien said the increase would come into effect anyway due to the SAT determination.

Many councillors agreed the pay increase could help entice more candidates at the upcoming local government election in October where four seats will be up for grabs.

But Cr Turner said it was also important to stress how much work was involved on the council because it had been “eye-opening” for others around the table.

She highlighted that Mr Wilson had given up his full-time and part-time employment to focus on the job, and many other councillors had reduced their work hours as well.