Councillor pay rises are justified, says boss

Councillors have voted to give themselves pay increases that in one case will be as high as 426%.

Elected members at Boston Borough Council in Lincolnshire will see the rises come into effect from April, but will be backdated to include the current financial year.

Council leader Anne Dorrian said the rises are "justified", reflecting the amount of work councillors undertake.

However, opposition councillor James Cantwell, who voted against the rises, said it was "greedy".

Like other councils, the authority pays each of its 30 elected members a basic annual allowance, plus more if they hold positions of special responsibility, such as oversight of certain services.

Everyone will get a rise of 25%, taking the basic allowance to £7,000 and those in key positions will then get more depending on their role.

As leader, Dorrian will get a 49% rise to £25,000 a year, plus her basic allowance.

She said the allowances had been below that paid by neighbouring councils.

Dorrian added councillors work, on average, 22 hours per week and that she was earning minimum wage for the "50 to 60 hours a week" she actually works.

"The decisions are complex, serious and affect people's lives," she said, referring to councillors' workload. "We're constantly on call, we're never off the clock."

The chair of the committee overseeing governance will get a 426% rise, from £1,519 to £7,989.

Members of the ruling cabinet will get a 43% increase, from £6,959 to £9,951.

Cantwell said he would donate his to local charities.

"It's greedy and will harm the reputation of the council that we voted through such massive pay rises," he said.

"You don't get into local council work for the money. We're already getting paid enough for what we do."

The council said it asked for its allowances to be reviewed by an independent panel, which advised that the amounts should be raised.

In a secret ballot, councillors decided to go further than the recommended increases.

The allowances, which are taxed, are paid on top of out-of-pocket expenses, which councillors can claim for things like travel and the cost of childcare while they are attending meetings.

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