Cornwall councillors vote themselves a hefty 20% pay rise

6:03pm Tuesday 23rd October 2012 in Cornwall

COUNCILLORS on Cornwall Council have voted to give themselves a 20 per cent rise in their basic allowances.

An original recommendation, drawn up by an independent remuneration committee, was that the allowance would rise from £12,148 to £16,400. However an amendment was put forward to see the rise limited to £14,600, an increase of over 20 per cent. In a recorded vote, the increase was passed by 42 votes to 29, with four abstentions.

The changes will see the total amount of the council’s budget spent on basic allowances rise by £301,596. It means councillors will now receive one of the highest basic allowances in the country.

The changes are set to come into effect after the next full council election is held next May.

Albert Lampey, chairman of the independent remuneration committee, told the council the figures had been drawn up to try to attract a wider range of society to become councillors.

Falmouth Boslowick councillor Mike Varney said he felt a pay rise was needed to attract more people into politics.

He said: “If I had my way, we would get rid of 60 members and give those left allowances of £35,000, and tell them they would have to be full-time councillors.”

Helston South and Porthleven councillor Andrew Wallis said: “If you take the headline figure of a 35 per cent increase, then yes, it is shocking.

“However, to put it in perspective, it works out per voter on the electoral role as around £5 per head.

“Who here would not be willing to pay £5 for democracy, I would pay it now.”

He added: “What we must do is look towards the next council, this is not for us, none of us are not guaranteed to be here next year.

“I live on my own, and have a dependent, and if I did not receive a special responsibility allowance, I would not be stood here today.”

Falmouth Arwenack councillor Steve Eva voted for the increase to £14,600, but said he would not take the extra allowance himself if elected next year.

Former cabinet member Steve Double told the meeting: “We are all aware of the state of public finances, we are making all sorts of changes to save money.

“With that background I do not see how we can vote in allowances that would amount to £500,000 on the council’s budget.”

A separate recommendation to see mileage allowance rise from 40p to 45p per mile was accepted by members.

Comments(19)

Gill Zella Martin says...
9:45pm Tue 23 Oct 12

I have said in the past and I still maintain, that councillors should get a decent allowance as this enables those financially less advantaged to have the same chances of standing for councillor as those who are better able to afford the commitment. However, I do not mean that someone should stand for councillor purely for financial gain, they should of course stand for the right reasons.

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ucsweb says...
9:58pm Tue 23 Oct 12

This proves just how out of touch the council is with the real world and a lack of a sound and fair financial strategy.
Nearly all council tax payers are taking a pay freeze or cut, and some council employees are losing their jobs. Is this policy an attempt to save enough money so they can afford their own pay increases?
Of course, austerity is the reduction of benefits and services to the tax payer and Cornwall Council have no problem with that.

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Gill Zella Martin says...
9:45am Wed 24 Oct 12

Councillor Steve Eva has stated he will not accept the pay increase if he is elected next year which is commendable, he obviously feels he does not personally need the increase, although voted in favour for it which will benefit those who wish to stand for councillor that would otherwise be unable to afford to do so.

What now will be interesting to see, is if those councillors that voted against the increase which would have prevented new people less financially stable, standing for councillor, actually accept the increase themselves.

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DCI Jen says...
12:39pm Wed 24 Oct 12

I can see the logic in offering a reasonable allowance because otherwise it could end up only those of the older generation being able to afford to stand as councillors and not those of working age on low incomes.

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Teejay says...
3:39pm Wed 24 Oct 12

Pigs in Troughs!

The recent upheaval was attributed to 'breathtaking arrogance'. So what's changed.

It costs everyone more to travel to work or use their cars for voluntary work. Why don't they lead by example?

Easy answer; doesn't matter who they are, if they stand for re-election vote for their opponent.

The whole lot need replacing until they put the electorate's views ahead of their own interests.

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Grocer says...
9:58pm Thu 25 Oct 12

This 20% increase which they have voted themselves is a disgrace. What would we all say if MPs did the same? Pigs with their snouts in the golden trough, at a time when so many others are having to accept pay freezes?

Would I be right in believing that this allowance is tax-free?

I see from the report that only 42 of the 123 councillors voted in favour of this increase - not exactly an overwhelming majority.

I consider Mr Wallis's comments to be decidedly cynical. In paying him all this extra money, we are not "paying for democracy." And is he not the one who decided that he did not need to pay his council tax, obliging the council to waste its resources on pursuing a County Court case against him? The word "hypocrisy" springs to mind.

What is it that make our councillors, or at least 42 of them, think that they are worth more than those in almost every other local authority?

I see also that they have voted themselves at 12% increase in their mileage allowance. Insult to injury.

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Devonman says...
1:03am Fri 26 Oct 12

Will the staff get a 20% increase too?
I think not. The councillors ought to feel ashamed of themselves for even thinking about an increase of this size.

Take note...
If you are one of those paying for this increase, make a note of the 42% of councillors who are robbing you and get them out.

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Gill Zella Martin says...
9:41am Fri 26 Oct 12

I think it is a little unfair to bring up the council tax issue again.

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ronedgcumbe says...
9:02am Sat 27 Oct 12

I would like to state if I am ellected next may I will give this increase to a Helston charity. It will be the most vunerable who will be effected by this greed if council tax is capped again with further cuts to essential services.

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Gill Zella Martin says...
10:44am Sat 27 Oct 12

Are you standing for Cornwall Council then ronedgcumbe ? I thought you were going to stand for Helston town council, or are you going to stand for both?

It is not greed on the part of all Cornwall councillors, the idea was to offer a decent allowance to Cornwall councillors thus enabling those financially less well off to be able to afford to stand as councillor and fulfil the commitments. It should be down to freedom of conscience as to whether or not a councillor feels that they need to accept the increase.

Something that should be remembered is that the increase does not come into effect until next year, therefore it is wrong to accuse people of greed because those councillors that voted on the increase do not even know at this present time whether they will be elected next year, and the public do not know even if some of the current councillors will again stand for election.

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seacom says...
6:53am Mon 29 Oct 12

Certa[nly increase the allowamce to a living wage but means test it to household income.It is likely some councillors have time restrictions through their work commitments or running a buisness.With a hjgher allowance maybe these people could stand for election and not lose financially.

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veritassleuth says...
8:52pm Mon 29 Oct 12

What is it with these Walter Mitty characters at Flambards. We have had two years of bozo bose acting out the role of mayor, and made helston a laughing stock. Now we have another cubicle cleaner who had decided he is going to save us all, and get on town and cornwall councils, and has already started giving his increase away.

Tell me, do the people who vote count in this, or like bozo you are relying on your mason friends to lever you in post.

By the way, the last time I was at flambards cubilce 6 had no toilet paper, and the seat was broken. Could you sort that out before you get elected.

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ronedgcumbe says...
10:12pm Mon 29 Oct 12

I am certainly no Walter Mitty or mason just someone who is prepared to put there name forward as you are clearly not.I just has Ideas and the confidence to put them forward once on the town council.

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DCI Jen says...
5:52am Tue 30 Oct 12

I think for anyone to stand for councillor they need to be honest and to be able to talk to anyone whether they agree with their opinions or not. Ronedegcumbe you once stated on this website that you would not talk to Gill simply because she did not live in Helston, and yet it is people from surrounding villages that spend time and money in the town not just Helston town residents. Also to me it appears by your comment on another article on this website that you condone Falmouth councillor Ms Merretts actions of getting herself suspended twice. Which makes me question what you think is suitable behaviour for a councillor, you can't be suspended for no reason.
You have also in the past said about people coming into the county just to retire and about putting Helston back in the hands of Helston people, when you were challenged on that comment as to what you meant, you failed to answer. I think you need to resolve those issues before you stand for councillor. You may well have some good ideas but being a councillor is not all about good ideas. As for the allowance increase for Cornwall Councillors, you seemed to have missed the point that it so people from all walks of life can have the chance to stand for councillor without the lack of money holding them back.

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seacom says...
7:43am Tue 30 Oct 12

What seems to be overlooked in the idea of younger people becoming county councillors is the notion it is a full time job.Unless the format changes firstly you get elected,for a term of four years, to my knowledge a lending institution would not give a mortage on this basis.What hope is there unless a person is financially independant or sponsored politically maybe.

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Gill Zella Martin says...
7:49am Tue 30 Oct 12

I may not always agree with everything ronedgcumbe says, however, I genuinely wish him all the best if he wants to stand for councillor.

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Gill Zella Martin says...
9:02am Tue 30 Oct 12

At the present time being a councillor is not a full time job although obviously the more time one can dedicate to it the better. The idea of a decent allowance is so that one would not have to find the extra expenses of attending meetings etc out of ones own private income. Anyone may or may not have additional paid employment or a mortgage or rent to pay but they may not be able to afford the expenses of standing for councillor out of their normal income, therefore unless a viable allowance is paid that will cover all the costs, the current situation is that it is excluding people on low incomes from standing for a position of a Cornwall councillor.

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Marcella M says...
4:37pm Tue 30 Oct 12

seacom wrote:
Certa
A living wage? People on minimum wage are not considered to be on a living wage.
£500,000 - a lot of money. That could be spent in Cornwall or pay wages for Council workers who have lost their jobs.

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veritassleuth says...
12:27pm Wed 31 Oct 12

From: The Girl in Cubicle 6
To:ronedgecombe

OK ronedgecombe, a chance to prove you are not a walter mitey character, and tell the truth.

Are you standing for Helston Council. If so, what allowance will you give to a Helston charity, as I understand they do not get any. Unless you are planning on becoming Mayor immediately. With all the support you gave to dopey booze, I would think that pretty unlikely.

Second question. Are you standing for Cornwall Council. If so, how much of the 15K would you give to a Helston Charity. Or are you planning to become leader of that as well.

Your mason friends may be able to help, but they wont be able to fix it all. So lets have some straight answers.

By the way, cubilcle 6 hasnt been cleaned today and still no toilet paper. Can you get you assistant dopey booze to clean it.

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