TAMWORTH Regional Council's general manager was given a five-year extension in the job this week.
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Paul Bennett's new contract will begin next year with a remuneration package 11.5 per cent greater than GMs in similarly sized councils in NSW.
Mr Bennett begun his stint as the council's general manager in 2010 and his new contract could see him hold the reins until September 2025.
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In the role, the general manager helps the council develop strategic plans, budgets, deliver projects as handling day-to-day management of the organisation.
According to the NSW government's recently-launched "your council" comparison site, the Tamworth Regional Council general manager's remuneration package is $338,000.
The council voted in favour of a 14 per cent pay rise for the GM back in 2017.
The general manager did not seek to renegotiate the current remuneration as part of the new contract, a council report said.
This package is about 11.5 per cent greater than the "group average" package, per the state government's data.
The office of local government group this is weighed against includes former Evocities councils Wagga, Orange, Bathurst, Armidale, Dubbo and Albury among others.
The group average general manager remuneration package is $303,225.
The GM at Wagga Wagga City Council, former Tamworth planning director Peter Thompson, has a remuneration package worth $312,271 according to the Your Council data.
Bathurst Regional Council's head honcho, David Sherley, is remunerated $341,282.
The remuneration package for the Armidale Regional Council general manager, Susan Law, is $315,486.
The regional council general manager pay packets are relatively smaller than their metro counterparts, where the Inner West council GM takes home $486,990.
Mayor Col Murray said Paul Bennett's extension was "good news" for the city and the GM was "quite popular".