Wiltshire councillors have voted to give themselves a pay rise of 3.2 percent.
Members were nine hours into an 12-hour full council meeting on Tuesday 21st October when they deliberated the findings of the independent renumeration panel.
Mel Jacob, deputy leader of the Lib Dem administration and portfolio holder for corporate services reminded councillors that it had been policy to increase allowances in line with council staff pay awards.
Council leader Ian Thorn said it was important that local government did not become the domain of the retired and independently wealthy, while Conservative group leader Richard Clewer said the arrangement was simple and equitable.
Allowances claimed by Wiltshire’s 98 councillors last year totalled £2.4 million. The basic allowance for councillors is £16,465 per year and not increasing the allowance would have saved £ £320,000 over the four year term.
Reform UK tried to block the motion, with group leader Ed Rimmer saying, “I find it difficult in current financial climate to support a raise.”
Speaking of “public service above personal gain,” he said, “I really support freezing allowances for the duration of this term.”
Cllr Jacqui Lay (Conservative, Purton) – said not every councillor claimed their expenses, while “some take what they need, and some take what is available.”
Seventy four councillors voted in favour of the 3.2 percent increase in allowances with 11 – including the 10 Reform UK councillors – objecting, and six abstaining.
In the latest available figures from the Office for National Statistics, the average annual pay rise stands at 5.2 percent. The annual rate of inflation is currently running at 3.8 percent.
