Eurobodalla Shire Council councillors have voted to increase their pay by 2.5 per cent.
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All councillors supported the motion, except for Councillor Anthony Mayne, who wanted the pay increase to be less than 2 per cent, in line with the CPI.
The Local Government Remuneration Tribunal recommended the increase.
The council said the maximum fees for Regional Rural councils for 2019-20, including the full Tribunal determination, would be set at $20,280 for councillors and $44,250 for the additional Mayoral allowance.
It would come into effect on July 1.
Mayor Liz Innes said it was important to set a standard for future councillors, and current remuneration was not enough to persuade young people to put their hands up.
She said councillors could choose to donate their increase to charity.
Councillor Lindsay Brown said the fee was not a wage, but some compensation for efforts of councillors, who might spend up to 30 hours a week on duty.
He said he would often travel from his Narooma home to meet ratepayers in Batemans Bay and Durras as part of the role. He said one year, he made a financial loss as a councillor.
"We don't do it for the money," he said.
General Manager Catherine Dale said the motion complied with the 1993 NSW Local Government Act.
The tribunal determined the categories of councils and mayoral offices at least once every three years.
It undertook a significant review of the categories and the allocation of councils into each category in 2017.
The review was prompted by the amalgamation of councils resulting in the creation of 20 new councils and an overall reduction in the number of councils in NSW from 152 to 128.
