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
| Name | Salary | POPULATION |
| West Coast Regional Council | Not 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
| Name | Salary | POPULATION | Tier |
| 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
| Name | Salary | POPULATION |
| Waitaki District Council | $341,065 | 24,300 |
| Ruapehu District Council | $325,367 | 13,050 |
| Hauraki District Council | $322,000 | 22,400 |
| Opotiki District Council | 315,211 | 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