I FEEL compelled to write in support of Borough Councillors following the letter from R T Dodson of Stockbridge (Andover Advertiser dated 9 May).
The £5,800 per annum quoted in Mr Dodson's letter has to be seen in the light of a static allowance over the previous four years (2003-2007).
An independent assessor then recommended an increase which is now reflected in the allowance quoted.
advertisement
It needs to be said that the allowance is on the basis of an estimated 55 per cent of paid time over 45 per cent of voluntary time. In order to continue to serve my residents fully, I gave up my Chief Officer's post at Age Concern when I became Deputy Mayor so that I would have sufficient time for this service.
As to the extra allowance for the Leader and Deputy Leader, do see these in the light of the many extra hours they have to spend doing council business, virtually a full-time job. So, is £15,800, for the leader extravagant? Certainly not! What other employment pays £15,800 for a virtual full-time service with that level of responsibility?
Mr Dodson speaks of the intransigence of most of the elected councillors. Intransigence indeed. We give our best and are criticised at every turn. Do give us some encouragement to serve you, otherwise you won't get any offering to stand for election in the future.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
