WORCESTER city councillors have moved a step closer to increasing their pay by more than 10 per cent - despite struggling to make £750,000 in council spending cuts.
The council cabinet last night agreed to deepen the allowance purse, from which councillors draw remuneration for holding certain posts, by £12,000, taking the overall total to £153,000. The final rise must be ratified by the full council.
The decision came as the cabinet agreed to spend £15,000 on a survey of city residents about how they wanted to see money spent on council services, an idea described as "political propaganda" by city MP Mike Foster.
Recommendations from Worcestershire's independent remuneration panel, which offers suggestions on rates of pay to all councils in the county, include:
Upping the basic payment to all councillors from £3,008 to £3,320, an increase of 10.4 per cent.
Giving the leader of the council an additional allowance of £7,800, up £780.
Increasing cabinet members' extra allowance by 11.1 per cent to £5,200.
Raising mileage rates for car journeys within the city from 16.5p per mile to between 36.4p and 49.9p, while lowering amounts for trips outside Worcester by around 8p per mile.
Last year, the council decided to delay recommend increases of around seven per cent because of the authority's dire financial circumstances.
But it has now decided to introduce the increase on top of the panel's latest suggested rate, three per cent, in line with wage rises in Worcester.
"Some years ago we devolved responsibility to the independent remuneration panel to decide what allowances should be.
"We are, of course, free to reject it and vary it if we so wish as we did before with the £10,000," said council leader, Councillor Stephen Inman, who last week warned of "unpleasant" cuts in service provision following the authority's government cash hand.
"My view is that, given the extra responsibilities of all members - and not just cabinet members - in the new structures, the fund available to use is reasonable and I am happy to defend that in the public arena."
Coun Inman also defended the decision to spend £15,000 recruiting researchers to interview 300 residents to discuss the authority's spending priorities.
But Mr Foster attacked the decision. "That £15,000 could be spent on tackling anti-social behaviour in the city, could be given to improve the parks or providing better youth services. I'm disappointed they are going down this route," he said.
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