Pay freeze? Arun councillors say no way

The prospect of the payments for the duties carried out by the councillors staying the same for the coming year was defeated by 33-10 votes, with two abstentions.

It was raised during the annual budget debate by Cllr Simon McDougall (Lib Dem, Bersted). He said the move would show council members understood the economic pain many residents were feeling.

His conversations with the public were being increasingly dominated by their worries about their jobs, their mortgages and their debts.

"Freezing our allowances would be a gesture in the right direction and show members of the public that we share their concerns," he stated.

Arun's expenses budget for its 56 councillors in the coming year is around 450,000.

Published figures show that the Conservative leader of the council, Cllr Gill Brown, receives a special responsibility allowance of 13,200 a year. All councillors receive a 4,620 basic allowance, while committee chairmen receive between 1,500 to 6,250 a year.

Councillors agreed to increase their allowances by one per cent a year during the current four-year financial strategy. This will add slightly less than 5,000 to the current overall bill.

An independent panel is currently studying the level of the council's allowances. Its recommendations will be put to councillors in the coming months.

Bersted Cllr Sylvia Olliver, one of the council's two Independent members, backed Cllr McDougall's stance by saying her conscience would only allow her to act in one way.

Cllr Dr James Walsh (Lib Dem, Littlehampton Beach) said keeping allowances the same would be worthwhile. "We can't save the world economy but we can do something locally to help people," he stated.

But Cllr Mrs Brown said the amount saved by any freeze would be minute compared to Arun's 22.5m annual budget.

"We are talking about just under 5,000. It is a drop in the ocean. I understand why this idea has been put forward. But we have to take more serious financial decisions than that," she stated.

Cllr Jacqueline Maconachie (Con, Aldwick West) damned the idea of an allowance freeze as a cheap publicity stunt.

Cllr Ricky Bower (Con, East Preston) said: "I have a great deal of sympathy behind this idea but it is going to hamstring the governance committee's considerations once the independent panel has reached its conclusions.

"We have an independent panel and if we now turn round and freeze allowances what's the point of the panel? To pre-empt the decision the governance committee is likely to take is wrong."

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