Riccarton Ward City councillor Catherine Chu, who is running for the Banks Peninsula (former Port Hills) electorate with National and also sits on the Canterbury District Health Board, has vowed to donate 20 per cent of her remuneration from the city council and CDHB to the Returned Services Association.
"I have made the personal decision to donate 20 per cent of the amount I receive from council and the CDHB for the foreseeable future to the Returned Services Association in the hope to assist in providing service personnel and their families get the support they need," she said.
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The majority of city councillors who earn $114,130 a year, as well as Mayor Lianne Dalziel with a salary of $195,000, have signalled a willingness to take pay cuts in order to ease the burden on ratepayers.
However, any decisions around pay increases and decreases is in the hands of the Remuneration Authority. The authority is yet to make any decisions around the salaries of elected members.
Said Cr Chu: "I had hoped by now there would be a public position on what is happening with council remuneration. There still appears to be no clarification."
A number of other city councillors have also sidestepped the Remuneration Authority by donating a percentage of their pay to charities, which does not need approval from the authority.
City councillors Sam MacDonald, Phil Mauger told Star News they planned to donate 10 per cent of their salaries to charity in response to Covid-19.
Fifth-term city councillor James Gough also announced on Facebook he had decided to donate a portion of his salary to a charity, but he would not reveal how much or to which charity.
She said herself and her team were waiting to see when lockdown finishes before initiating discussions around pay cuts for herself and her team.
"Once we have that information and we know how the organisation will function at that alert level, I will be in a better position to make decisions about the resources required going forward," she said.
