Whanganui Mayor, Andrew Tripe, is on Brink of becoming a "Ratepayer Hero" following good news provided by the Taxpayers' Union in response to his public comments that he would like to reject his unnecessary mayoral pay hike, but couldn't.

According to Local Democracy Reporting, Mayor Andrew Tripe says it was the wrong time for pay bumps but the decision to lift elected member pay rates was made independently of councils, stating "We have no influence on what [the Remuneration Authority] decides. We cannot reject any pay increase, either. If I could, I would."

Local Government Campaigns Manager for the Taxpayers’ Union, Sam Warren, said:

“We have good news for Andrew Tripe - his statement that he cannot reject any pay increase is wrong. Public officials have the same rights as any employee to tell the payroll department to pay salaries into more than one bank account.

“In this case, we've confirmed with Whanganui City Council the bank account for the Mayor to donate the increased pay back to it as a donation.

"We have provided a letter for Mr Tripe to sign, to advice the Council of his rejection of the pay increase. Once signed, Whanganui ratepayers will rest assured that they have a mayor not just willing to put money where his mouth is, but a true 'ratepayer hero'. The letter can be found at www.taxpayers.org.nz/tripe_letter

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