Councillors vote in favour of allowances hike
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by political editor Paul
Francis
County councillors have voted through an eight per cent increase
in their allowances despite opposition calls for the payments to be
frozen.
County council leader Paul Carter dismissed a call from the
opposition parties for the new allowances - which were recommended
by an independent panel - be rejected and that the decision
should be delayed until the public could be given a chance to have
a say.
He said the increase proposed by was "modest, sensible and fair"
and pointed out that councillors had seen no increase over the
previous four years.
"It is below any
inflationary index that you want to use so really we are worse off
than we were four years ago," he said.
He rejected a Lib Dem call for the decision to be put on hold to
allow the public a say."That would be a total waste of time and
effort."
But the increases were condemned by the opposition parties.
Labour group leader Cllr Les Christie said the public would be
outraged.
"We are the best paid councillors in the south east of England.
Are we so insensitive, having knocked on people's doors during the
election, not to recognise peoples' attitudes to politicians? I do
not find it acceptable that the first decision that we take as a
new council is to give ourselves an increase of eight per cent," he
said.
Watch a Kent Today
video news report on the issue.
He said the public would find the move outrageous and added that
staff who received a one per cent pay increase this year would find
it "odd".
Liberal Democrat opposition leader Trudy Dean said
KCC should be prepared to allow the public a say before any
increase was voted through.
"If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it is that
members of the public need some involvement in setting our
allowances. It has become perfectly clear since the exposure of MPs
allowances that there has to be greater exposure and quite rightly
so."
The rise in basic allowance means
Kent county councillors will be among some of the country’s
best-paid local politicians.
In East Sussex, councillors receive
a basic allowance of £10,842 while the leader is entitled to
£24,087. In Essex, the leader Lord Hanningfield received £39,181
and the basic allowance is £10,550 while in Birmingham, the largest
authority in the country, the basic allowance is £15,850.
- So what do you think? Are
councillors worth the allowances we pay? Should they be given more?
Join in our debate by clicking on the 'make a comment' tab
below.
Why are councillors'
allowances paid?
Allowances paid to councillors are
supposed to reflect the time they give to their council duties,
such as attending council meetings and meeting constituents.
However, it is not a salary as all
councillors are provided with allowances that reflect that there is
a voluntary element to their work.
They are also intended to cover
incidental costs, such as when councillors use their home to deal
with council business.
In addition to allowances, members
are entitled to claim travel expenses; a carers’ allowance and for
some subsistence costs.
Wednesday, June 24 2009
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