June 2024 Oberon Council Meeting

June 20, 2024

The June 18 Council meeting didn't throw up many surprises, but three matters are worth mentioning.

Councillor remuneration

First is a proposed increase in the payment to councillors. These increases are not decided on unilaterally by councils, but have to fit in with recommendations from the NSW Local Government Remuneration Tribunal, which sets the maximum and minimum pay rates for councillors based on the relevant categories of councils.

Oberon is classed as a "Rural band" council with the following pay ranges.

Member	Minimum (PA)	Maximum (PA)
Mayor	$10,880	$29,500
Councillor	$10,220	$13,520

The Tribunal recommended a pay rise of 3.75%, although a larger rise is permissible provided the payments do not exceed the maximum. Moving Oberon councillors to the maximum payment would mean a rise of about 10%.

Council resolved to accept the 3.75%, bringing the annual payments to $12,625pa for each Councillor and $27,545pa for the Mayor. Councillor Hayden put forward a motion to move to the maximum amounts allowable but failed to get a seconder.

The report from the NSW Local Government Remuneration Tribunal can be seen from Page 113 of the meeting agenda.

See also: Do you want to be a Councillor?

Spending the Town Improvement Levy

At the March meeting, Council resolved to drop the Town Improvement Levy and replace it with a small surcharge on the rates of all residents in the Oberon LGA. This left an amount of money in the fund which could only be spent on the original targets of the levy, all of which are within the Oberon township itself.

A list of possible projects was presented to Council, and operating as a Committee of the Whole the Councillors went through the list with suggestions for changes. The finalised list will be presented to the full Council at a future meeting.

The list of projects (before the discussion and amendments) can be seen from Page 108 of the meeting agenda.

Report on water quality

It's no secret that water quality in Oberon has been an issue for some time. At this meeting, a comprehensive report prepared by engineering firm Bligh Tanner Pty Ltd was presented for information and discussion. You can read the report from Page 427 of the meeting business papers.

See the meeting agenda here.

You can see a recording of the meeting here.

Read the minutes of the meeting here.

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