Dear Tribunal Members
Re: councillor allowances
Being a councillor is a 7‐day job, where usually up to 3 hours per day is spent handling ratepayer enquiries and general ward advocacy, with the exclusion of public and social events, social media and meetings.
I suggest that the role, despite not having fixed hours, factoring in the latter is comparable to a full‐time position, however an allowance is awarded reflecting a part‐time role.
Further a councillor, does not have office staff that would assist with meeting growing ratepayer engagement and awareness, so therefore is left to manage a high‐volume of tasks in this absence on their own.
No consideration is made within the current allowance for vehicle maintenance, servicing and insurance, despite a vehicle being an essential part of the role, nor does the role provide any allowance for marketing expenditure.
For reason of the above, the existing part‐time allowance must be updated to reflect a full‐time role with consideration of vehicular and marketing expenses.
Thank you
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