‘We’ll snub bloated pay-packet deals’

City councillors in Canterbury will remain the cheapest in Kent after voting to ignore any future recommendations to give themselves a pay bump.

Members have instead agreed to take only the same rise as the authority’s staff or at the rate of the Consumer Price Index if it is lower.

The move is in stark contrast to the Conservative-led council’s fellow Tories on Kent County Council, who in July voted themselves a staggering 15% pay hike despite an independent panel recommending they take just 1.5%.

At a meeting last Thursday, councillors congratulated themselves for representing the only area in Kent where each resident pays less than £2 towards allowances, at just £1.83.

Cllr Neil Baker (Con), said: “We are the least costly council in terms of the cost of councillors in Kent, and long may that continue.

“We want to ensure that the money residents contribute towards this council via their tax bills each year goes on the services they cherish, they deserve – and not on a pay packet that’s bloated for councillors at the end of each month.”

Councillors are not paid a salary for their work, but they receive a £5,302 basic allowance to help towards the cost of phone calls and stationery, preparing for and attending meetings and dealing with inquiries from constituents.

Cllr Alan Baldock (Lab), said the vote demonstrated solidarity with friends, family and neighbours affected by the cap on public sector pay.

He said: “They continue to work hard, juggle debt and the high cost of housing in our district. They have a sense of never- Cllr Neil Baker (Con)

ending hopelessness, and that cannot be fair.

“We want to demonstrate to our residents employed in the public sector that we empathise with them, and that fairness comes first.”

Cllr Baldock also accused KCC members of losing their “tenuous grip on fairness” by giving themselves a hike which cost the taxpayer half a million pounds.

Labour’s Bernadette Fisher said KCC’S “ill-judged” decision “weakened their voices” when talking of the need for cuts to essential services, adding: “That’s frankly unforgivable”

Council leader Cllr Simon Cook (Con) said limiting any future increases was the right thing to do.

He said: “Everyone knows council finances are under strain, and I am proud to lead a Conservative administration at Canterbury City Council where the cost per resident for councillors is lower than any other district in Kent.

“This is no accident; we have deliberately kept the cost of councillors – in allowances and expenses – low so that we can use residents’ tax money to provide the local services they cherish and deserve.

“It also means those people elected to represent residents are motivated by a desire to serve their communities, rather than by a pay packet at the end of each month.”

Cllr Baker, who seconded Cllr Cook’s motion to limit allowances, added: “It is right that councillors should receive some sort of remuneration so that the role is open to everyone, not just those with large incomes from elsewhere.

“But it is crucial that the amount is proportionate and I am delighted that we have agreed to peg any increase to the level of the staff pay award or the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation, whichever is lower.”