Mayor's call doesn't add up
TWEED Mayor Kevin Skinner has come under fire from colleagues for suggesting the council needs fewer councillors.
Cr Skinner this week called for a reduction in the number of councillors from seven to five to allow the remaining five to be paid more in a move he said would help “get someone with a bit of brains”.
This financial year six of the seven Tweed councillors are being paid $15,970 and the mayor $54,290. That might be increased by 4.2% for next financial year when councillors vote on the issue on Tuesday.
Former mayor Cr Joan van Lieshout was against a reduction in numbers.
“That would be a mistake. We have a very large region,” Cr van Lieshout said. “Already it’s very hard to get right across the board.
“Seven is probably a good number.”
Cr van Lieshout said better remuneration would attract councillors with business experience.
Cr Warren Polglase said cutting numbers would reduce the representation of Tweed’s “diverse population”.
