Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
First female leader gets ready for new role at council
ANGUS Council is preparing to meet for the first time since the Scottish local elections earlier this month.
Tomorrow, a new chamber in the authority’s Angus House HQ at Orchardbank in Forfar will host the first face-to-face full council for more than two years.
And it will be a new administration after the SNP sealed the deal to secure its return to power.
May 5 saw the SNP take 13 of the council’s 28 seats.
There are seven Conservatives, seven independents and one Labour councillor.
But the agreement of Carnoustie independents Brian Boyd and David Cheape to join an SNP-led administration took the largest group across the line for an overall majority.
Monifieth and Sidlaw councillor Beth Whiteside becomes the first female leader in the council’s history.
A special meeting room has been set up in Angus House to accommodate the meeting.
Councillors agreed it was better for newlyelected members to be in a physical meeting rather than also trying to wrestle with online technology as they get to grips with their new role.
The first items on tomorrow’s agenda are the election of a provost and deputy provost.
Conveners and deputies on the council’s standing committees will then be appointed.
Tomorrow’s agenda also includes a report on councillors’ remuneration.
It sets out how the annual wage bill is distributed.
The council must pay its leader £39,148, and the provost can receive a salary of up to 75% of the leader, which equates to a maximum of £29,361.
In addition, Angus can have up to a maximum of 13 senior councillors who hold roles such as convener or vice-convenerships.
A maximum senior councillor payment is also £29,361.
Councillors who do not hold a senior or civic role will receive £19,571.