Perth and Kinross councillors’ salaries are set to rise from April 1 following an independent review.
Council leader Grant Laing’s salary will go up to £50,063.
Councillors will be paid £25,982 and senior councillors up to £34,528.
The sums are contained in a briefing note for elected members.
It was issued on Tuesday – the day before councillors met to agree a 9.5% council tax rise for the coming year.
A Perth and Kinross Council says its hands are tied when it comes to councillor salary rates.
A spokesperson told The Courier: “The decision to raise remuneration levels was made by the Scottish Parliament following an independent report by the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee.
“It had last reported on councillor remuneration in 2011.
“As these pay levels are set nationally, individual councils to do not have the power to reject these changes.”
How do Perth and Kinross councillors’ salaries compare with Angus and Dundee?
The national SLARC review looked at the duties councillors perform and the hours they work.
And it compared their roles to those of other public sector workers and MSPs.
The re-valuation means the Perth and Kinross Council leader’s £50,063 salary is rising from £42,698 last year.
That’s an increase of just short of £10,000 since 2023-24 when the rate was £40,205.
The SLARC review found: “Council leaders have a responsibility to improve the day-to-day lives of those within their council areas.
“We heard a consistent message that the role of a council leader can be as complex and onerous as that of MSPs.”
The regular Perth and Kinross councillor’s £25,982 salary was £24,581 last year and £20,999 in 2023-24.
And the Perth and Kinross Council civic head, or provost’s £37,548 salary has gone up from £32,024 last year and £30,154 in 2023-24.
The median annual salary for full-time employees in Scotland was £38,315 in 2024.
As a Band B council, Perth and Kinross councillors salaries are set at the same rate as the neighbouring councils in Angus and Dundee.
Council tax payers there are facing increases of 11% and 8% respectively.
Spending decisions part of councillors’ responsibilities
Perth and Kinross councillors set the new council tax rate on Wednesday as they approved the budget for the coming year.
It will take the annual council tax for a Band D property from £1,403.69 to £1,537.04.
The budget included £8m on health and social care and an additional £1m for road repairs, and £2m for bridges and other structures.
It also contained good news for campaigners who had been fighting to save rural libraries from closure and to reverse cuts to the instrumental music tuition service.
In October last year, councillors approved a Real Living Wage increase for council staff.
The vote meant eligible employees would receive the 60p an hour rise – from £12 to £12.60 – from December 1, instead of having to wait to April this year.
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