Which local government CEOs are overpaid or underpaid?

The Taxpayers’ Union has compiled a local government “rich list” showing the salaries of council CEOs. They range from $648,900 to $219,382. But this doesn’t tell us too much as different councils are different sizes, and also regional councils tend to have less areas of responsibility and funding (and staff) than territorial or unitary authorities. So I’ve divided them into categories. Let’s start with Regional Councils.

Regional Councils

NameSalaryPOPULATION
West Coast Regional CouncilNot Available          32,900 
Otago Regional Council$595,924         254,600 
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council$584,000         184,800 
Northland Regional Council$442,945         203,900 
Environment Canterbury$438,416         666,300 
Greater Wellington Regional Council$433,493         550,500 
Bay of Plenty Regional Council$430,137         354,100 
Horizons Regional Council$380,000         260,900 
Waikato Regional Council$378,566         522,600 
Environment Southland$324,617         103,900 
Taranaki Regional Council$312,671         128,700 

So the salaries range from $310k to almost $600k. The two on over $500,000 look out of line. They are in fact two of the smaller regional councils. Northland looks high when you compared to Canterbury, which has three times the population. On the flip side the Waikato Regional CEO looks to be a bit underpaid compared to their peers.

Large Councils

NameSalaryPOPULATIONTier
Auckland Council$648,900      1,739,300 1
Christchurch City Council $543,943         396,200 1
Tauranga City Council$537,024         161,800 1
Wellington City Council$513,970         216,200 1
Dunedin City Council$449,758         134,600 1
Hutt City Council$422,163         114,000 1
Hamilton City Council$400,972         185,300 1
Whangarei District Council$361,915         101,900 1

You would expect the Auckland Council CEO to be paid the most, likewise Christchurch second. The Tauranga CEO is earning $100,000 more than similar size Councils. You could also argue the Hamilton CEO is underpaid or Hutt is overpaid.

Medium Councils

Far North District Council$511,000          74,700 
Selwyn District Council$435,847           81,300 
Hastings District Council$421,474           91,900 
Rotorua District Council$416,031           78,200 
Waikato District Council$416,000           90,100 
Napier City Council$408,532           67,500 
Gisborne District Council$399,767           52,600 
Porirua City Council$388,505           62,400 
Nelson City Council$387,912           55,600 
Queenstown-Lakes District Council $383,814           52,800 
Palmerston North City$381,838           91,800 
Tasman District Council$375,000           59,400 
Waipa District Council$363,604           61,100 
Marlborough District Council$361,000           52,200 
Waimakariri District Council$359,235           69,000 
Western Bay of Plenty District Council$356,412           60,800 
New Plymouth District Council$341,356           88,900 
Invercargill City Council$327,375           57,900 
Kapiti Coast District Council$310,000           58,400 

The Far North CEO salary seems massively out of line. They get paid more than the CEOs of four large councils and around $100,000 more than CEOs of similar size councils. I’d argue that all the $400,000+ salaries are too much for a medium sized council.

Small Councils

Timaru District Council$423,225          48,900 
Central Otago District Council$393,754           26,000 
Matamata-Piako District Council$374,997           37,700 
Thames-Coromandel District Council$362,500           33,700 
Ashburton District Council$356,000           36,800 
Manawatu District Council$350,687           33,900 
Whanganui District Council$348,789           48,900 
Taupo District Council$347,587           42,000 
Horowhenua District Council$344,600           37,500 
Kaipara District Council$343,535           27,300 
South Taranaki District Council$341,837           29,600 
Southland District Council$333,598           33,000 
Upper Hutt City Council$321,694           48,300 
Masterton District Council$317,277           29,100 
Whakatane District Council$317,099           38,800 
South Waikato District Council$305,000           26,000 

Again the top six councils looks high – over $350,000 for a CE of a council with under 50,000 residents is a lot.

Very small councils

NameSalaryPOPULATION
Waitaki District Council$341,065           24,300 
Ruapehu District Council$325,367           13,050 
Hauraki District Council$322,000           22,400 
Opotiki District Council315,211          10,550 
Hurunui District Council$300,314           13,800 
Gore District Council$300,101           13,050 
Rangitikei District Council$299,956           16,300 
Clutha District Council $282,250           18,900 
Waitomo District Council$277,770              9,720 
Otorohanga District Council$272,000           10,900 
Tararua District Council$270,000           19,200 
Waimate District Council$265,000              8,400 
Westland District Council$262,302              8,940 
Grey District Council$261,569           14,250 
Buller District Council$260,100              9,670 
Stratford District Council$257,000           10,300 
South Wairarapa $250,000           11,900 
Mackenzie District Council$249,000              5,690 
Kaikoura District Council$238,963              4,230 
Wairoa District Council$237,175              9,290 
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council$230,400           16,000 
Kawerau District Council$222,362              7,820 
Carterton District Council$220,000           10,250 
Chatham Islands Council$219,382                 730 

Now we are down to the very small councils. I would have thought you could get very suitable CEOs for under $300,000, as most Councils have done.

The brand salary ranges that would seem appropriate, based on the released data, in my opinion is:

  • Regional Councils: $300k to $450k
  • Large Councils: $400k to $650k
  • Medium Councils: $300k to $400k
  • Small Councils: $300k to $350k
  • Very small Councils: $200k to $300k

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