All councillors set to ‘note’ report on their own pay rise – Flintshire held ‘advisory vote’, will Wrexham?

Wrexham councillors could follow their ground breaking counterparts up in Flintshire and hold an advisory vote over their own pay rises, if they so wish.

At next week’s full council meeting all councillors will be able to have their say on a pay rise report before them for consideration.

The proposals before Wrexham’s councillors at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday will see a £268 pay rises for all councillors, with some seeing that go up to £800 extra if they are on the Executive Board. In Flintshire councillors who asked where the cash would go if not taken, or the pay rise proposals were voted down, were told the council would retain it, and ‘it would reduce the budget pressure’.

The £20,756 to cover the rise has been earmarked already in the already approved budget in Wrexham.

In the report due before all councillors a standard recommendation is suggested:

“Members are requested to note the changes in Members’ remuneration set out in the Annual Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales for 2019.”

We have long documented some councillor anger towards the pay rises, independently set via a separate pay panel, cumulating in a meeting last week where a councillors branded the panel a ‘waste of time‘ for not listening.

Traditionally ‘noting’ such a report is done via the raising of hands, although as readers will know we have been told that is not a ‘vote for’ a pay rise, although last year some councillors voted against the report noting, and as we wrote, it was unclear what would have happened if there was a majority taking that position.

In a recent scrutiny meeting the council officer did say the pay report would be ‘confirmed’ at this forthcoming meeting. Similarly, councillors are able to propose changes to the recommendations if they see fit.

Recently after a well documented kick off Flintshire councillors decided to offer an amended  recommendation, and had the chance to hold what was described as an ‘advisory’ vote.

Two votes were proposed up the road (detail in tweets via Deeside.com here) with the one finally voted on being to add a recommendation that read ‘…invites all councillors to forgo any increase in their salary on voluntary basis’. That was put to councillors in Flintshire, and defeated in a tight vote 22 voted for, 24 against.

Councillors can choose to forgo their pay rise, with it previously being explained that individuals can write to the head of finance explaining why they do not wish to receive it.

Previously it has been alluded to that some councillors choose to donate their pay rise or a chunk or their salary to charity.

The recommendations will see eight members of the executive board senior salary receive over £30,000 a year in a 2.7% increase – taking the overall councillor pay bill almost to the £1,000,000 a year in Wrexham alone. A similar £800 pay rise is also proposed for the leader and deputy leader of Wrexham Council, which locally would bring the salaries up to £49,100 and £34,600.

Extra focus could come on Executive Board members and committee Chairs as the pay panel are linking increases to performance, with this years rises for the Executive to ‘recognise the differential in responsibility and workload between a chair of committee and a member of an executive’.

You can learn more about the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales here.

Councillors will be asked to ‘note’ the report at the Full Council meeting next Wednesday.