I AM sure that most readers, like myself, like to feel that our council tax is well spent and will be concerned about elected representatives deciding their own pay.
There has been a lot in the national press recently about allowances paid to MPs. There have also been letters in Chad showing concern about allowances for county councillors.
It therefore came as a great surprise that our very own Mansfield Dist
rict Council ignored public concerns on this and pressed ahead along the same track.
The council ignored the recommendations of an independent panel set up to review councillors' pay and instead decided what to pay themselves regardless of the panel or, it seems, public opinion. Recommended cuts in some allowances were ignored.
Recommended scrapping of some allowances were also ignored. Public opinion was ignored. They voted for themselves. What arrogance!
A cost of living increase might be acceptable to taxpayers like myself. What happened at this meeting was not. The panel's recommendations were based on an objective assessment of responsibilities and workload in positions of special responsibility due to changing circumstances.
In a lot of cases this meant a reduction in payment, but councillors reversed that. This was not universal however, the Labour Leader of the Opposition was the only councillor not to get the increase recommended by the panel. Is that political bias or what!
As if this wasn't enough, at the following council meeting a member of the public asked about this situation but was told that although all councillors had a direct pecuniary interest in this they would be allowed an exemption on this occasion. So that's it. They voted for pay rises because they could. I was surprised that the member of the public concerned was able to ask his questions. On a previous occasion he was denied this right. Whether it is part of the council's constitution or not the chairman's ruling is final, apparently.
It was all a very unedifying, self-serving exercise, further undermining confidence in our public institutions. Do they all deserve it and earn it anyway? The day they voted on their pay 12 councillors didn't even bother to attend! Why don't you ask your councillors how they voted on this and why?
JOHN BARSBY,Berry Hill Lane,
Mansfield.
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