Melbourne Water boss Shaun Cox pockets $43,000 pay rise Melbourne Water boss Shaun Cox. MELBOURNE Water boss Shaun Cox - the man in charge when households were overbilled for the desalination plant - has pocketed a $43,000 salary boost. The head of Victoria's biggest water authority reaped a pay and perks package of $470,768 last financial year, up 10 per cent from $427,549. The deal included a generous $55,768 bonus for work during the time households were ripped off by hundreds of millions of dollars. Vinnies spokesman Gavin Dufty said the windfall was "not a good look." "The pay rise and bonus is disconnected from the experiences of households who were overcharged and the disadvantaged households whose concessions are failing to keep up with rising water bills," Mr Dufty said. It's not a good look when households battle to pay significant increases in bills. Melbourne Water said the salary followed government pay guidelines and reflected the responsibilities of managing $14.5 billion in assets "critical to the city's public health and safety and environmental health." Mr Cox was the face of the overcharging saga, publicly declaring consumers were wrongly billed for the delayed Wonthaggi plant last year. The managing director's base pay grew from $405,000 to $415,000 last year, including superannuation. His bonus was linked to performance in the previous financial year - a period when metropolitan households were unfairly slugged for the southern hemisphere's biggest desalination plant. Customers were refunded $310.8 million with a price freeze, rebates and interest through their retailers last financial year. A backlash over Melbourne Water's bid to compensate consumers across five years forced the State Government to announce the faster repayment scheme. Melbourne Water last week reported a $30.1 million loss in its annual report in the wake of the billing fiasco. The authority admitted overcharging for the unfinished desalination plant in a draft water pricing plan mid-last year. The bungle occurred from December 2011 to June last year. Mr Cox released exact salary details to the Herald Sun, rather than broad income bands that are officially published. His bonus for 2012-13 is 6 per cent, which will be paid this financial year. The number of executives earning more than $100,000 swelled from 45 to 52 in a year.