Isle of Wight Councillors have approved how much money they will give themselves in the coming year.
1 councillor said he felt uncomfortable as he thought was the biggest increase he had seen in years.
The authority’s full council agreed to set its members’ allowance at just under £9,000 each, but with a potential inflationary uplift.
Councillors receive an allowance for the time they dedicate to their role, but it is not a salary and is often regarded as a reimbursement for losses incurred, for example, wages from other jobs.
Speaking on Wednesday, Councillor Geoff Brodie said it was being presented to the council as not an increase, but it was and would likely rise later this year when a figure had been agreed nationally.
Last year, members agreed to a new scheme — where a sum would be added each year in line with the pay award offered to staff and reflecting the level of inflation. A basic allowance was then calculated, in January 2022, as £8,232 per year.
Following that decision, a 5.3% increase was added later in the year and equated to a £600 rise in the allowance.
Councillor Brodie told the meeting when the increase was awarded, especially as it was backdated for a number of months, he felt uncomfortable as the authority was about to increase its budget, and charge residents more while they faced the cost of living crisis. He thought it was one of the biggest increases he had seen to the members’ allowance in all his years on the council.
It means, in 2023/24, the basic allowance will be at least £8,832 with an inflationary measure added at a later date.
No agreement has been reached over the pay award yet so there is no indication of whether there will be an increase, and if so how much.
Councillors voted in favour of the ‘not an increase but an increase’ motion with 22 votes for, 8 against and 2 abstentions. Every councillor will receive the basic allowance but if a member holds a special responsibility within the authority will receive more.
A cabinet member receives twice the basic allowance and the council leader gets three times the amount.
Councillors can choose whether or not to accept their allowances.
Absolutely bloody disgusting. These people are every bit as bad as the lifelong benefit scroungers. There should be no allowances whatsoever while they constantly push through council tax increases.
The money they get should equate to the time they actually attend a meeting in full.
I guess it will more than likely cover the Council Tax hike and a couple of beers after Council meetings.
Don’t forget the few days away work where they stay in some 5 star hotel, the upgrades of iPhones and so many other expenses as it don’t come out of their own pockets..they are worse then the scrounges in my opinion
Isle of Wight Councillors have approved how much money they will give themselves in the coming year
what is wrong with this statement – hmm – no wonder council tax keeps going up, yet services are cut – no we know why.
Disgusting !! Shame on them all .. definitely not worth a single penny ..
greedy pigs up go’s the tax
Shocking this is more than our nurses , and for what not a lot
Yet hard working low paid staff haven’t had any increase in expenses for around 10 yrs and currently 10p less than was 15yrs ago ! . Without you’re workers there would be no Council or service’s. I really don’t understand why so many councilor’s, Parish Councils or why we need two MPs eating up essential Tax payers money that could be spent on Children, Elderly NHS etc
So that is where the council tax increase is going then
Absolute disgrace,let’s get rid of at least 50% of these waste of time councillors most have absolutely no idea or qualification to carry out there duties, half the expensive paid to the remaining 50% then council tax can be reduced and services maintained.Job done !
Does the local ‘ lodge’ even pay council tax?
Well to be a mason you have to believe in a supreme being ,or the magic man as I tell the Jehovah’s.
So they could argue that they are a church and therefore exempt from council tax.
A hefty reward for total incompetence
Money for old rope springs to mind.
What they REALLY mean is, they are going to pay themselves out of our council tax whatever they like, and make cuts to the services we get to make sure they get theirs first
So, not only will they receive an increase in their allowances, they gave ALSO made provision for an ADDITIONAL inflationary increase!
Bad enough an ‘inflationary’ increase on its own, but an increase as well as an inflationary increment is criminal!
I wish I could vote on my pay increase
Not bad for the pathetically uneducated and distanced from the public, people that work for the Council and need more to survive than those without incomes, and without such choice!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!
Can’t wait to get an increase in my allowance as well…
Thieving lot of b…..ds. extra money for what exactly! And that is where our increase in council tax is going…to line their fat cat pockets . No wonder this island is sinking in all the greed .
Just don’t vote for any of them at the next election.We were much better served when councillors were not paid but were only interested in serving the Island not themselves.
Yes that’s right you take the Islanders hard working money, make sure the elderly go without food or heating because there’s many out there. I myself am eating pulses and on offer stuff or beans on toast and at least there’s 3 days where I have just water to drink..no food unless I go to the congregation church that has bread and veg for the hungry.. 2023 never thought ide see the day..
I always thought they did it for “love” and not for “money “i have often wonder if it’s an “ego” trip and this public service talk is a load of rubbish
£9000 plus the pension.So that’s £13000.
That’s what it’s really costing the council tax payer.
Due to council tax, parking ,etc etc, increases the trough is now overflowing, so the pigs have to get their snouts in to take the cream off the top. What’s left in the bottom will be allocated to those that actually need it.
People need to stop paying council tax
Hmmm. . . £9k eh? So people across the Island actually vote for these Councillors? Asking for a friend.
9K for losses – some need to justify getting this, in fact as it is Tax Payer’s money they all need to justify to us the public what the money is being spent on. We are after all accountable to others.