23 June 2025
Seven of North Sydney’s ten councillors have voted to award themselves and the mayor the maximum allowable remuneration for 2025–26, rejecting a motion from independent councillor James Spenceley to instead take the minimum and “lead by example” in light of the council’s ongoing financial pressures.
The vote followed the release of the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal’s determination for the new financial year, which allows metropolitan medium councils to set councillor fees at up to $29,950 and the mayoral fee at up to $78,480. These represent a 3% increase on last year’s maxima.
Spenceley moved an amendment to instead set both fees at the statutory minimums — $15,830 for councillors and $33,630 for the mayor — citing the $180,000 saving this would represent in aggregate.
“This is on the basis of the financial position of council,” Spenceley said. “We need to lead by example. Paying ourselves the maximum during a period where we’ve put together a request for an SRV [special rate variation], which ultimately was unsuccessful … sends the wrong message. We do need to show staff that we wear the difficulty of this situation as much as any individual within the business.” Spenceley was alluding to Council’s unsuccessful campaign for an 87% rate rise on the basis that its finances were unsustainable, and a subsequent move to keep some staff vacancies open to save costs.
The amendment was seconded by councillor Jessica Keen but was defeated 7–3, with only Spenceley, Keen and Efi Carr voting in favour.
Following the failed amendment, the original motion to fix councillor fees at the maximum level passed by the same 7–3 margin. The decision locks in the full increase for the 2025–26 financial year.
Councillors are expected to attend a public meeting, generally an hour or two long, every second Monday and briefings from Council every other Monday as well as participate in other committees from time to time. The current mayor attends to her duties in parallel with her professional role as a litigation assistant for the Wilshire Webb Staunton Beattie law firm. Her latest diary, published on the Council website, indicates she attended 15 briefings, meetings, launches, ceremonies and workshops across a 30 day period in May, broadly indicative of her regularly reported monthly workload.