Pay rises are in store for Southland’s elected members, but some are getting more than others.

On Wednesday, the district council met to determine how it should distribute a set amount allocated by the Remuneration Authority for councillors — bar the mayor.

The council decided to bump councillor pay from $40,843 to $41,360, while deputy mayor Christine Menzies' jumped from $53,096 to $62,040.

A report prepared for the meeting said Menzies’ sum was 1.5 times that of a base councillor's pay and noted the workload would likely continue to increase in the new triennium.

Mayor Rob Scott’s salary was directly determined by the Remuneration Authority and increased from $145,222 to $152,473.

Speaking on Wednesday, Scott said some media had been “having some fun” with the fact councillors were setting their remuneration, but the pool was decided in Wellington and had to be fully spent.

On Tuesday, Invercargill city councilors determined how to distribute their pool.

The base salary for a city councillor jumped from $45,717 to $54,347, while the deputy mayor would now earn $81,521.

Invercargill mayor Tom Campbell's salary was set at $165,687 by the Remuneration Authority.

Pay for the city council's mana whenua representatives has proven a talking point and was ultimately set by elected members at $49,275, about $5000 less than what councillors earn.

Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air