City councillors say they're underpaid...but vote against pay rise |
Nevertheless, Norwich City councillors have voted to defer a decision about whether they should receive a sweep of pay rises - following an independent consultation which advised they deserved more pay.
A review carried out by the Independent Remuneration Panel, which consists of four non-council professionals, had recommend that basic allowances and the salaries of leaders should be boosted.
The group's recommendations follow a consultation with councillors where 70pc said they believed their current rates were "inadequate".
20 of NCC's 39 councillors responded to the survey, with 14 responded to say current rates are too low (Image: Norwich City Council)
In the survey, responded to by 20 of City Hall's 39 members, 14 said current pay was "inadequate".
Four said rates were only "somewhat inadequate", while one stated that current levels were fair.
If the pay hikes had been approved, they likely would have come under scrutiny given that the authority has recently increased council tax by 2.99pc.
City Hall has also faced questions for its management of Lion Homes, which was later put into liquidation and made £5m in losses in five years.
Among the proposals put forward by the panel was a £1,950 increase to councillors' basic pay, which would have brought their annual total to £9,755.
Mike Stonard, the leader of Norwich City Council, would've seen his salary increase by around 25pc (Image: Norwich City Council)
The group also recommended that the salary of the council's leader, Mike Stonard, should be boosted by 25pc to £25,843 per year, and that deputy leader Emma Hampton's pay should rise by nearly £4,000.
It also put forward that the pay of all cabinet members increase from £6,505 to £8,763.
The changes would have pushed Norwich City Council above West Norfolk as the authority offering the highest basic councillor allowance in the region - it currently sits at third.
Norwich currently also remains the second lowest in Norfolk and Suffolk for its council leader allowance, with West Norfolk still paying its leader the most, at £28,081.
Despite the panel's recommendations, a cross party recommendation saw the council defer the majority of the panel's suggestions.
Lib Dem leader James Wright supported the deferral (Image: Facebook)
At Tuesday's full council meeting, Liberal Democrat leader James Wright said it would be "inappropriate" to push through the increases while the council's future remained uncertain.
The vote comes at a time where the council is preparing for a shake up of local government, which will see the authority dissolved and replaced with a larger, unitary authority.
At the meeting the Green Party pointed out that the basic allowances were 5pc less in real terms than they were in 2016, but also ultimately chose to support the delay.
It is the second time the proposals have been deferred, having first been up for discussion in November.
Instead, councillors agreed to a smaller package of changes.
The carer's allowance, which helps members cover childcare costs while attending duties, was also raised from £10 to £14.90 per hour.
Basic allowances will also continue to rise annually in line with wider council staff rates.