Lismore City Council councillors will be asked to vote on their remuneration at tonight's monthly council meeting.

Councillors are asked the same question each year. Their pay rose to $24,810 in 2021/22, followed by two years of no increase, as per the table below.

The General Manager suggests that council adopt the maximum rate of $27,050, which is a 3.7% increase for this financial year.

This is a similar situation for the mayor. In 2021/22, the mayor's pay rose to the maximum rate, followed by two years of no increase. The recommendation is that the mayor be paid the maximum rate of $66,800 for 2024/25.

The debate on mayoral and councillor remuneration comes down to how much work councillors perform for their maximum rate of $27,050 and $66,800 for the mayor of Lismore.

As an example, for tonight's June meeting, there are 96 pages on the agenda document and a further 118 pages for the attachments. Then, there are the weekly councillor briefings or information sessions.

In other matters, council will discuss and vote on altering the 2021 resolution to 'hand back' the 74 hectares owned by Lismore City Council on the North Lismore Plateau to its traditional owners.

The intention is still the same; however, to finalise the transfer of ownership, the details need to accurately reflect the expected outcome.

Council owned land on the North Lismore Plateau be transferred to the traditional owners:

1. a. this will be undertaken through the following:

i) Council enter negotiations with the Widjabul Wia-bal Gurrumbil Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC (ICN 9856), being the registered native title body corporate that holds native title on trust for Widjabul Wia-bal for the transfer of land ownership of North Lismore Plateau land (NLP land) comprising of Lot 1 in DP 772627, Lot 12 in DP 844585 and Lot 1 in DP 118556

ii) the consideration for the NLP land transfer shall be $1.00, considered paid

iii) the General Manager be delegated authority to sign all documents necessary to transfer the land

iv) each party involved in the NLP land transfer shall be responsible for their own costs, including but not limited to legal fees, stamp duty (if applicable), and registration fees

v) the Widjabul Wia-bal Gurrumbil Aboriginal Corporation is responsible for conducting its own due diligence to ensure the NLP land meets satisfaction

vi) the Widjabul Wia-bal Gurrumbil Aboriginal Corporation be granted access to the NLP land for the purpose of conducting its due diligence; this access is intended to identify and assess any risks associated with acquiring the NLP land before entering a Contract of Sale

2. a briefing is prepared for councillors to examine the relevant processes, possible timeframes and budgetary impacts

3. an inclusive, transparent consultative process is identified in order to engage all relevant stakeholders to participate in the process

The June Lismore City Council meeting will begin at 6pm at the Lismore chambers in Goonellabah. You can also watch the meeting online via council's Facebook page.