LAKE Macquarie councillors will push for better pay, arguing they should earn as much as their Central Coast counterparts.
As the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal prepares to review the categories that determine how much elected officials can be paid, Lake Macquarie wants to be moved up to a Major Strategic Area alongside the Central Coast.
It's the second largest non-metropolitan council in the state, nipping at the heels of its neighbour just 40 minutes down the Pacific Highway.
At Monday night's meeting Labor Cr David Belcher said the population figures that determine where a council sits are "very arbitrary".
"Lake Macquarie City Council in my mind is already a Major Strategic Area (MSA) and has been for some time," he said.
"The amount of infrastructure and investment in this area would dictate that being the case, so we're very much caught between the devil and the deep blue sea in this positioning of us.
"The fact that we would need a 100,000 person increase in the population to meet that next level, even though we're effectively already operating at that level, seems bewildering to me."
The council will make a submission to the tribunal, asking it to change the population threshold from 300,000 to 200,000 and for it to be reclassified as an MSA alongside the Central Coast.
Last year, the tribunal moved Maitland, Shoalhaven and Tweed into the same category as Lake Macquarie, despite Maitland having less than half its population.
It means councillors in Lake Macquarie can take home a maximum of $32,590 compared to $34,330 for their Central Coast counterparts, while the local mayor can earn $94,950 compared to $106,960.
Newcastle and Wollongong are classified as Major Regional Cities, but their fee options remain the same as the Central Coast.
In its submission, the Lake Macquarie council supports an increase in fee levels for mayors and councillors across the board "to account for increasing costs of living and better reflect the amount and value of work done by elected officials in local government".
It argues serving on a council is a significant commitment that calls for a range of practical, technical and interpersonal skills, and while fees don't constitute a salary, elected officials should be offered adequate remuneration to attract quality candidates to stand for council.
"Council advocated for and welcomed the introduction of superannuation for mayors and councillors but contends that the current system still undervalues the nature and scale of work that our elected officials undertake," the submission said.
The tribunal's determination will take effect from July 1, 2024.
