Council votes not to cut highest salaries
A DECISION not to slash the salary of the highest paid councillors ‘gives the wrong impression to the people of Gwynedd’ it is claimed.
A vote was held at a full Gwynedd council meeting on whether to cut the pay of 18 members by £3,000, from £29,100 to £26,100.
If the motion had been passed, it would have meant 18 councillors, including the leader, deputy leader, eight other Cabinet members, leader of the largest opposition group, the chairmen of three scrutiny committees and audit, planning, licensing and pensions committees, would have seen their salaries reduced.
The full council of 75 members, with two members, John Pughe Roberts and Dewi Owen, absent, also voted for a £100-a-year increase for all members, bringing their pay up to £13,400 from £13,300.
The decision comes just over a year after the council agreed £4.6m of cuts to the services it provided.
Independent Cllr Eryl Jones-Williams said: “It gives the wrong impression to the people of Gwynedd in that we are not taking cuts as well.”
Council officer Geraint Owen said salaries were set by national body The Independent Remuneration Panel and the increase from Level One (£26,100) to Level Two (£29,100) had been recommended by the Democratic Services Committee last April.
The vote for the £100 increase was 39 for and 36 against.
A recorded vote showed that two Plaid Cymru councillors, Judith Humphreys and Elfed Williams, voted against the increase as did the council’s only Lib Dem, Stephen Churchman, while two Independents voted for it. One councillor, Catrin Wager, abstained.
Each of the six Llais Gwynedd councillors voted against, including Owain Williams who said: “The public out there are suffering and what they are saying is that they are lining their own pockets. I think it would be a good thing for the public to see that we are thinking about them.”
Bethel Cllr Sion Jones, the council’s only Labour member, said: “It makes me a bit sick when we are increasing our salaries and council staff are not getting increases. This would have saved £28,000 for the council - equivalent to two jobs.
“It would have been wise for us as a council to show to the public that we are also serious about cuts. This was a missed opportunity.”
Referring to the increase in the basic allowance for all councillors, Independ- ent Louise Hughes said she was prepared to “sacrifice” her £100 increase. But Plaid’s Gareth Thomas said it was “payment for responsibility.”
A Gwynedd Council spokesman said: “... councillors voted to accept the recommendation that senior councillor salaries should remain at Level 1 (£29,100) for the first year of the new council. Eighteen posts receive this level of salary, which are: the Council Leader, Deputy Leader, up to eight Cabinet Members, Leader of the Largest Opposition Party and the Chairs of the three Scrutiny Committees, Audit, Planning, Licensing and Pensions Committees.
“It was also resolved that a review of all Committee chairs should be held in a year to determine if the decision should be revised or the salary level changed.”