Councillor Amanda Hay has done the unthinkable – she voted against a pay rise for councillors.
Not only did she vote against the pay increase recommended by the Local Government Remuneration Commission which will see councillor’s remuneration increase to $82,218, she has donated her increase to local schools in the form of a two-year bursary.
In the meeting, Cr Hay said, she found it ironic to find the item on an agenda which included a Mayoral Minute about councillor conduct and subsequent comments about “all the things that we appear to have got wrong”.
“I know that I could opt not to take the increase however that apparently makes it difficult for accounting purposes at council,” she said.
The recipient of a bursary herself, Cr Hay said she sees it as repaying a kindness she was shown.
“I received a bursary when I was in high school because my mother was a ‘deserted wife’ – back in the days when you didn’t have sole parent pension,” she said.
“It was $100 which back then was a lot of money and it enabled me to complete my secondary schooling.”
“So, it’s like … paying it back.”
Cr Hay contacted St Bernard State School and Tamborine Mountain State Primary School before the meeting, to ask if they would accept two bursaries of $250 each, for two years – the remainder of her term in council – a total of $1000 per year.
“They were both overjoyed,” she said.
The Commission recommended an increase of 3.5 per cent for B2 councils, which includes Scenic Rim.
Cr Duncan McInnes said councillors voted against a pay rise during covid, but that the increase in this case was reasonable.
