County Adds $250 To Honorarium

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32127, 24 October 1969, Page 12

County Adds $250 To Honorarium

An increase of $250 in the $2500 honorarium paid to the chairman of the Waimairi County Council (Mr D. B. Rich) was approved by the council at its annual meeting last evening. The council rejected an amendment by Cr W. T. Rice that the honorarium remain at $2500.

At the annual meeting last year Cr Rice moved unsuccessfully that the honorarium be reduced to $l7OO, his amendment on that occasion lapsing for want of a seconder.

Last evening Cr R. C. Neville moved that the honorarium be increased to $2750, haring given notice of motion at the 1968 annual meeting. Under the legislation the council could fix the honorarium at $3OOO, he said. The county was one of the largest in New Zealand and this sum was parallelled to the amount of work done. The amount of work put in by the chairman for $2500 was fantastic.

Cr Rice said if Cr Neville could substantiate the I necessity for raising the hon-: orarium by 10 per cent and show that the chairman could not afford to carry out his duties in a manner befitting the position then he would be one of the first to support the increase. That such information had not been made available was to him a clear indication that the motion must fail for lack of a clear financial reason for placing such an extra burden on the ratepayers in these days of rising rates, Cr Rice said.

The job was onerous but' was still part-time and left' some scope for additional earning capacity. The motion was inflationary and could encourage the other Christchurch local bodies to raise the honorariums of their mayors or chairmen 10 per cent.

Last year the chairman and mayors of metropolitan I Christchurch had received a total of about $ll,OOO, Cr Rice said. At a time when the entire

structure of local government was in the melting pot the council should not prejudice public opinion any further against its case, and it would be wise to leave the honorarium at its present figure. Cr Rice then moved his amendment, which was seconded pro forma by Cr G. G. Don.

Cr I. Calvert asked Cr Rice why he suggested $2500 this year when he moved for $l7OO last year. Cr Rice said [he now accepted that $2500 was a reasonable figure. The amendment was put jand lost, and the motion was [put and carried.