Councillors in Lichfield and Burntwood could pocket a rise in their allowances of more than 10% if proposals are approved.
An independent review panel has recommended increasing the basic payment to Lichfield District Council members from £4,298 a year to £4,734.
The 10.1% jump comes after councillors voted earlier this year to increase council tax bills for households by 1.5%.
If approved, the move would see the 47 elected members share a basic allowance pot of £222,498 between them.
The panel – made up of Jason Challoner, president of Lichfield and Tamworth Chamber of Commerce, Lichfield Civic Society treasure Bernice Eisner and independent consultant Dr Declan Hall – said the current allowances were no longer fit for purpose.
“A result of freezing allowances since 2019 means there has been a loss of value in the main allowances paid under the Lichfield members’ allowances scheme.
“It should be seen as fair in that it provides a degree of recompense for workload and responsibility. Allowances should also be equitable when compared to peers.
“The current scheme fails on both points.”
Independent Remuneration Panel report
The panel added that representations and other evidence showed that allowances were “once more on the low side”.
But despite the recommended increase, the report said the raise could have been even greater.
“The panel could have actually recommended bigger increases than are set out, especially when considering the comparative picture.
“The recommendations reflect a balance between the weight of evidence and the need for the recommendations to be seen to be sensible in the current economic conditions.”
Independent Remuneration Panel report
The report has also identified other payments to senior councillors as part of the special responsibility allowance which could be on the increase if the changes are approved, including:
- Additional payment for the leader of the council to increase from £12,641 to £13,729 – 8.6%.
- Additional payment for the deputy leader to increase from £7,737 to £8,327 – 7.6%
- Additional payment for cabinet members to increase from £7,091 to £7,551 – 6.4%
- Additional payment for the leader of the principal opposition group from £2,943 to £3,432 – 16.6%
The chair of the overview and scrutiny committee will stand to pick up a 77.3% raise with the report recommending an increase from £2,580 to £4,576, while the planning committee chairman would see a 6.5% increase in the allowance with the payment going from £6,446 to £6,865.
Some roles will not see a change, however, with the chair of the council recommended to remain on an additional special responsibility payment of £2,885.
But the civic allowances will go up, with the chair able to claim £2,500 rather than the previous figure of £2,080 for things including “purchases and donations at fairs and fetes, appropriate clothing including for consort and cost of tickets to events invited to”.
The deputy chair will also see a £200 increase as their allowance would go up to £1,250.
The report will be debated at a meeting of Lichfield District Council’s cabinet on 11th July.
