Councillors in Stafford Borough voted for a £325 allowance increase, despite calls for a smaller rise to save council funds.
The changes start on April 1. The basic annual allowance increases, going from £5,342.98 to £5,668.23. It gets paid monthly in twelve installments.
Conservative councillors had another idea. They wanted a smaller allowance increase, saving the council about £11,520. Mark Winnington presented the alternative. He wanted only a 2.5% increase, matching the council officers’ increase.
Jeremy Pert also supported the smaller increase. He felt breaking with officers was wrong, as the time is difficult for local government.
The smaller increase failed to pass. Councillors voted for the bigger raise. They supported the panel’s recommendation.
Extra pay goes to councillors with more responsibilities. These “special responsibility allowances” also go up 2.5%. The council leader gets an extra £12,778.60. The deputy leader gets £9,127.57 more a year.
Cabinet members get £6,936.94 extra. The leader of the opposition gets £4,868.04. Committee chairs get between £11,56.15 and £5,111.44 more.
The panel surveyed the councillors. Most felt the basic pay was fair or too low. They thought the extra roles were suitable. Also, the special allowance amounts were reasonable.
Panel members spoke with councillors directly. The allowance amount was not their main motivation. They wanted diverse people to become councillors, and a big raise wasn’t the best way to do that.
A prior panel found data supporting a raise. Stafford shares services with Cannock Chase District Council. Stafford’s pay was less than Cannock Chase’s, also below similar councils’ average. The panel wanted to close the gap, increasing the basic pay.
Special responsibility pay did not need changes. All allowances increase 2.5% for officer pay. The basic pay also gets a 3.5% rise. This helps catch up with other councils.