Isle of Wight councillors have approved how much money they will be given in the coming year.
One councillor said he felt uncomfortable as he thought it was the biggest increase he had seen in years.
Reimbursement for losses incurred
The authority’s full council last night (Wednesday) agreed to set its members’ allowance at just under £9,000 each but with a potential inflationary uplift.
Councillors receive an allowance for the time they dedicate to their role, but it is not a salary and is often regarded as a reimbursement for losses incurred, for example, wages from other jobs.
Inflationary increase
Speaking last night (Wednesday), Cllr Geoff Brodie said it was being presented to the council as not an increase, but it was and would likely rise later this year when a figure had been agreed nationally.
Last year, members agreed to a new scheme — where a sum would be added each year in line with the pay award offered to staff and reflecting the level of inflation.
A basic allowance was then calculated, in January 2022, as £8,232 per year. Following that decision, a 5.3 per cent increase was added later in the year and equated to a £600 rise in the allowance.
Brodie: Feel uncomfortable about increase
Cllr Brodie told the meeting when the increase was awarded, especially as it was backdated for a number of months, he felt uncomfortable as the authority was about to increase its budget, and charge residents more while they faced the cost of living crisis.
He thought it was one of the biggest increases he had seen to the members’ allowance in all his years on the council.
Basic allowance of £8,832
It means, in 2023/24, the basic allowance will be at least £8,832 with an inflationary measure added at a later date.
No agreement has been reached over the pay award yet so there is no indication of whether there will be an increase, and if so how much.
‘Not an increase but an increase’
Councillors voted in favour of the ‘not an increase but an increase’ motion with 22 votes for, eight against and two abstentions.
Every councillor will receive the basic allowance but if a member holds a special responsibility within the authority will receive more.
A cabinet member receives twice the basic allowance and the council leader gets three times the amount.
Councillors can choose whether or not to accept their allowances.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: Alaur Rahman under CC BY 2.0
