Northern Beaches councillors racked up almost $200,000 in expenses last year, while the council spent $150,000 sending staff to conferences across Australia.

After spending $31,866 in nine months, Greens councillor Ethan Hrnjak said, “I don’t shy away from saying I’m definitely the poorest person on the council” when asked why his expenses were more than double the average of other councillors.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have the privilege of being able to forgo expenses costing me out of pocket, so that’s why I was encouraged to make use of our councillor expenses,” said Hrnjak, who spent $10,000 towards a six-week intensive program at the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

In January, the council requested a controversial 39.6 per cent rate hike over three years , which drew ba

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