Councillor salaries to stay unchanged in next year

Councillor Simon Croce pitched to raise the amount to the maximum, which was seconded by councillor Christine Stead - who was quick to add that she seconded the motion 'for the debate.'

Councillors Dino Zappacosta and Chris Sutton chimed in though and added an amendment to the motion - calling for no change to the councillor payments and leaving them at $21,100 per year while the mayor is paid an additional $46,040 a year.

Councillor Croce said that he didn't expect any support for his motion, but argued that the raise would potentially encourage more to run for local government.

"Personally, I don't care since I'm only here for another ten weeks or so. It's not for me, I'm doing it for the new council ... we're talking about people being a bit gun-shy to apply so I think we make it a decent fee. We're going to drop to nine [councillors] so we're saving 60 or 70 grand straight up," he said.

He encouraged other councillors to take the raise, but suggested that each councillor could put forth some of that money personally to fund community programs or organisations deemed worthy.

Councillor Melissa Marin had a prepared speech, calling for the amount to remain the same.

"Last year, I vehemently opposed a pay rise because our general manager painted a dire financial picture for the council ... I believe it is also my responsibility as a councillor to consider the implications of increasing our own monetary value," she said.

"I won't ignore how wrong it is to give ourselves a raise while saying we need more money. We need to show we are careful with public money."

The amendment was passed and the subsequent motion to leave councillor reimbursements unchanged was passed unanimously.