Thanks for the chance to make a submission to this.
I'm a resident that lives in the City of Moreland.
I think that, in light of Covid, where so many people have been stood down, made work reduction deals, and businesses just trying to stay alive, it's inappropriate for any increase to salaries and allowances for Councillors, Mayors and Deputy Mayors.
Outside of the scope of this, I believe that Council staff should not be immune to this. Officers continue to make decisions that make life more difficult for residents, with their jobs immune from the decreases in pay that residents are facing. This lack of empathy for real‐world resident struggles then pushes through to their decision making.
I actually support a decrease in the mayoral and deputy salaries – having these two roles as the highly paid roles makes them disproptiationaly coveted, and Councillors clamour and deal‐make 4-year power‐sharing deals.
After Covid, I would support more of a normalisation of the Councillor and Mayoralty salaries, reflecting the work the Councillors must undergo in order to read very long Council agendas, with an ability to scrutinise the work of the Officers and listen to concerns of residents.
For example, I would support (post-Covid) Councillors on 60k, Deputy on 70k, Mayor on 80k.
But right now, in Covid, I cannot support any pay increases.
Thank you,
(redacted)
Moreland Resident
Updated