Elected representatives on Derry City and Strabane council voted to defer the current pay uplift awarded to councillors.
They will now write to the Department for Communities asking that an independent review panel be established as soon as practicality possible to determine if it is appropriate for councillors to vote on their own level of pay.
Members agreed that it was inappropriate for councillors to be voting to award themselves a pay increase, particularly during a cost of living crisis. This comes after the Department for Communities issued the Consolidated Councillor Allowances Circular on January 25 which would increase the annual basic allowance for a councillor from £15,071 to £16,394.
