Ratepayers expect full-time Councillors ...

Those candidates in other employment or running businesses take note.

Excerpt from Sunday Mail:

Anger over $200,000 for part-timers

3 February 2008

Lucrative new local-government salaries are not enough to convince some council candidates across the state to give up their regular jobs if they win office at next month's landmark elections.

But Local Government Minister Warren Pitt has warned of a ratepayer backlash if some areas don't get full-time councillors under the new guidelines which will see some elected local officials pocket more than $200,000 a year.

Under the regulations, there's nothing to force councillors to give up outside positions and businesses, but Mr Pitt said most ratepayers would "expect" successful candidates to be full-time.

The issue has become far more relevant after new pay scales were set on the merger of cities and shires across the state. Some positions were given pay increases of up to $43,500 a year. The independent Local Government Remuneration Tribunal set nine annual pay levels for councillors and mayors. They range from $18,980 for councillors and $56,950 for mayors to $120,230 and $202,500 respectively for some councils in far west Queensland and the Gold Coast.

Mayors and councillors will be compensated for the extra work resulting from the mergers, which will see councils reduced from 156 to 73, and elected members drop from 1250 to 526.
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See - Voters expect fulltime representation for the big bucks on offer.