An independent panel is recommending to next weeks York Council meeting that Councillors get whopping pay increases.
York Councillors proposed pay increases. About half the Council members are eligible for SRA payments.
If accepted, the rises would far outstrip the increase in pay seen by Council staff over the last 6 years.
In 2008 the Council agreed to tie members allowance rates to average Council staff wage increases, although members decided to forgo an increase during the depth of the recession.
Most Councillors were elected expecting an inflation lift of around 3%. However some, under the recommendations, would get an increase in responsibility allowances of as much as 148%.
The top salary earner would be the Council Leader who would be paid £34,668 a year. There would be no requirement for members to be full time Councillors (several members of the present Council also hold down well paid outside jobs). There is no requirement for Councillors to record the number of hours that they devote to their duties each week (although many do work very hard for their local communities)
The rationale used by the independent panel is that high wage rates are necessary to attract good quality candidates. However, at the May 2015 polls, electors had a record number of candidates to choose from.
There is little evidence to suggest that higher pay attracts better qualified candidates.
The Council does not have to accept the recommendations which, if implemented in full, would add £84,000 (15%) to the members annual wage bill.
Nor do individual Councillors have to accept a pay increase. In the past some have turned down increases and have continued to claim the amount applicable when they were last elected.
The debate comes at a time when the Council is struggling to find additional funding for elderly care as well as a bill for several hundred thousand pounds for changes to the Council Tax Support system.
One option would be for the Council to agree a total budget allocation in line with the 3.2% wage increase received by local government employees over the last 6 years,
Any further increase could be delayed until after the next local elections when, no doubt, a ballot paper full of high calibre candidates would be available for selection in all wards!
