Bay of Plenty regional councillors are keeping the status quo when it comes to how they will be paid for the three next years.

The decision was made at the council's first ordinary meeting of the triennium today.

The 14 councillors unanimously voted to keep the same pay structure as the previous term.

Sitting around the council table are four newly elected councillors and 10 who retained their seats.

A councillor with no extra responsibilities will be paid an annual salary of $61,525. A committee chair person will earn $ 70,000 a year and the council's deputy chairperson Jane Nees will earn $ 80,004 per year.

The regional council chairperson Doug Leeder will earn $152,522 a year, a raise of $6022 from the previous triennium.

At the inaugural meeting in October, the councillors voted to elect the same chair and deputy chairperson as the prior term.

The Remuneration Authority sets the pool for the councillors' salaries and the chairperson's remuneration, which is separate to the councillors' pool.

During today's meeting, councillor Stuart Crosby raised the point that the pool of $869,154 had remained the same for 'some time” and said it was 'at least six years”.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council's first ordinary meeting was held on Thursday. Photo: Alisha Evans /SunLive.

Leeder responded, saying it was the Remuneration Authority's mandate.

'[It's] best discussed at the forum of LGNZ in terms of the current debate,” says Leeder.

Crosby is also the president of Local Government New Zealand, the professional body for elected members of Aotearoa's councils.

The Remuneration Authority determines the pool by taking into account the size of the governance role of each council, the average time required by an elected member on a council of a particular size, and a general comparison with parliamentary salaries, according to the authority's website.

How much councillors were paid is one of the issues raised by the independent panel working on the Future for Local Government review.

The review aimed to address plummeting voter turnout and a lack of diversity around council tables.

It's most recent paper, released last month, recommended increasing councillors' pay to encourage a wider range of people to stand.

During the meeting the council also adopted its governance structure and appointed a chairperson, deputy chairperson and members to the numerous committees, joint committees, advisory and working groups the council has.

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