Councillors' expenses: the debate (From Surrey Comet)

Councillors' expenses: the debate

10:26am Tuesday 4th May 2010 in News By David Lindsell

The revelation a part-time consultant was being given a luxury flat in Charter Quay and a part-paid weekly ticket to Paris while overseeing the finance director role at Kingston Council, caused controversy earlier this year.

Elected councillors do not get a salary but they do get allowances depending on how many committees they volunteer for.

Every councillor gets a basic allowance of £7,585 but the leader of the council, Councillor Derek Osbourne, gets an extra £30,634 and the leader of the opposition, Councillor Howard Jones, gets £17,505.

Independent council candidate Vic Bellamy said he wanted to see the basic allowance reduced by 18 per cent and the leaders’ allowances by 35 per cent.

The Christian Peoples Alliance also promised to try to cut senior officers’ pay by 20 per cent if any of its candidates get elected.

Councillor Nick Kilby, deputy leader of Kingston Conservatives, defended councillors’ allowances but said his party would review senior officers’ pay but, he said, many staff were on contracts that would be difficult to break.

And Labour leader Councillor Steve Mama said: “My personal view is that anyone on the council’s payroll getting more than £100,000 a year should be subjected to public examination to ensure we receive value for money for that kind of salary.”

But Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Derek Osbourne dismissed the proposal and described them as “clearly populist nonsense by someone who has never run anything”.

Coun Osbourne said council allowances were already the lowest in London and said chief executive Bruce McDonald’s pay could not be reduced without his consent or by firing him.