Mayor’s pay to rise £20k over next four years
A £20,000 pay hike for metro mayor Dan Norris has been approved – but only after the three council leaders making the decision initially appeared to refuse it.
It was one of a series of budget proposals approved at the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) committee.
Among the decisions was redirecting £384,000, destined for reserves, to rural bus services following a proposal at the meeting by South Gloucestershire Council leader Councillor Toby Savage.
Members also agreed a £1.5 million rise in Weca’s staffing costs, up by about 20 per cent, along with a scheme to recruit more HGV drivers and next steps for tap-on, tap-off payments for bus passengers, the recent £540m transport settlement from the Government and the £50m Weca green recovery fund.
Mr Norris’s salary will go up by 30 per cent in total – £5,000 every year for the next four years, from £67,000 to £87,000, which exceeds that of an MP. The role of deputy mayor, which used to receive £13,000, will no longer be paid.
It was always likely to be a flashpoint following months of turbulence between the West of England mayor and the other Weca committee members – Tory councillor Mr Savage, Bristol Labour mayor Marvin Rees and Bath and North East Somerset Council Lib Dem leader Councillor Kevin Guy.
After asking three times whether anyone would move the independent remuneration panel’s recommendations, only to be greeted by an awkward silence, Mr Norris, who had declared an interest and could not vote, said: “OK, no movers. In that case it falls.”
At that point, Mr Rees, who received a £9,000 salary increase in 2020 via a similar panel’s advice, said: “If there’s an independent remuneration panel, I think we should just accept what they say,” adding that had been his position previously and he had to stick with that.
Cllr Guy agreed, but Cllr Savage, who was deputy to the former metro mayor, Conservative Tim Bowles, abstained.
The panel’s report said: “The panel has accepted that the mayor’s allowance falls well short of what is reasonable for such a prominent regional decision-making role, with significant strategic budget and service responsibility.
“The allowance is also at a level that the panel believes is unlikely, in the future, to attract candidates from diverse backgrounds willing to make the career/personal sacrifices necessary, given the legal restrictions on the post-holder.”