LISA Scaffidi believes the position of Perth Lord Mayor is severely undervalued and warrants a 200 per cent pay rise.

The outspoken Ms Scaffidi, who has been Lord Mayor for six years, believes the salary should triple to match the pay of her counterparts in the larger cities of Melbourne and Sydney.

Ms Scaffidi, who also gets thousands in allowances and a chauffeur, argues her $60,000 salary should increase to about $180,000.

"The lord mayoral position, given it's more than a full-time requirement to undertake the role professionally, should be treated similarly to the salaried levels of lord mayors of Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney,'' Ms Scaffidi said.

But trying to head off a backlash, Ms Scaffidi last night used Twitter to tell supporters she didn't "instigate'' the pay push and that it "should not be belittled and all about me''.

Earlier, she told The Sunday Times "to not pay makes running for this type of role somewhat elitist and not accessible'', adding that a pay rise would "therefore in itself be more democratic''.

Ms Scaffidi said "I have never made an issue of this in my role'' but "I am pleased'' it is being looked at "after such a long time''.

WA Local Government Association president Troy Pickard, who wants a pay rise for everyone in local government, predicted ratepayers would initially react badly.

"While I expect the initial reaction from some in the community would be to oppose any increase ... if they thought it through they would agree that it is not fair that WA lags behind other states,'' Mr Pickard said.

The Salaries and Allowances Tribunal is currently reviewing the pay structures for councillors and mayors and will recommend changes, to take effect from July 1.

On top of her $60,000-a-year salary, Ms Scaffidi receives $14,000 in "meeting fees'' every 12 months.

She is also entitled to claim up to $13,000 in expenses and has a chauffeur for council duties.

The Sydney Lord Mayor can earn an annual salary up to $221,200. Mr Pickard said the state's council representatives were short-changed compared with their eastern states counterparts.

WA councillors were paid a paltry $7000 a year, with some earning only $2400. Their colleagues in other states can receive up to $126,000 a year.

Mr Pickard said serving on a local council required a "significant time commitment'' and involved an increasingly complex role that was "way in excess of attending meetings''.

"But it is true that not all councils have the same demands or same levels of decision-making and that is why WALGA has suggested the inclusion of a specific system of bands,'' he said.

In other states, such as NSW and Queensland, councillors' pay is based on a series of bands of maximum and minimum pay rates. Councils are put into a specific band based on factors such as population and revenue.

In WA all local government councils are treated the same. In WALGA's submission to the SAT review, the association argues that the salary of the lord mayor of capital cities such as Ms Scaffidi should receive special consideration to recognise the significance of the role.

"The association's view is that the City of Perth should be included in the top band to recognise the importance of the capital city and the role of lord mayor,'' the submission says.

The WALGA submission says one metropolitan mayor recently resigned after one term to find employment with higher earnings.

"This is not surprising given that the maximum allowance payable to a mayor or president in WA is less than average full-time earnings,'' the submission said.

A tribunal spokesman said it had been eight years since fees, expenses and allowances paid to mayors and councillors had been adjusted.