Argument for increasing councillors' allowances rejected by previous Independent Remuneration Panel

Steve Rumbelow, Chief Executive of Rochdale Borough Council

One of the arguments being used by Steve Rumbelow, Rochdale Borough Council Chief Executive, to try and justify the massive proposed increase in councillors' allowances was rejected by a previous Independent Remuneration Panel in 2013.

Mr Rumbelow seeks to justify the 34% increase in basic allowance by a comparison with the other Greater Manchester councils and makes a big fuss about how Rochdale councillors' allowances have "fallen way behind the Greater Manchester average".

The 2013 Independent Remuneration Panel said: 'The Panel can see no objective argument for relating allowances in Rochdale to such diverse authorities which make up Greater Manchester.'

'We are unanimously against the averaging that has also been suggested to us. It is clear that any such step, if followed more widely by local authorities, would simply push up allowances across the board by the mathematical factor involved in such arithmetical approaches. In any system there will be a lowest and a highest.

'Averaging will only push up the lowest to the middle and leave the highest above the middle. In our view that has been responsible for some justified criticism in “other places” of the private sector and boardrooms.'

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/81494/councillors-allowances-should-be-reduced-says-independent-remuneration-panel

Following the recommendation of the 2013 panel that councillors' allowances be reduced, the Council's Chief Executive was asked "to review the form of and approach to the Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel and the review of members’ allowances".

Subsequently, the make up of the panel changed and none of the three 2013 panel members were part of the 2016 panel. 

The local resident who brought the previous report back to Rochdale Online's attention, who has asked not to be named, said: "To ask for such a large pay rise in a time of austerity, when they are making decisions to cut essential services and make more council employees redundant, and when the people they serve are facing increasing financial hardships, is absolutely outrageous. As a Rochdale resident and taxpayer it makes my blood boil, particularly the way they are going about it."

The recommendation to increase councillors' basic allowance by 34% is to be considered at a meeting of the council to be held at Rochdale Town Hall on Wednesday 14 December.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/106730/council-to-consider-increasing-allowances-for-councillors-by-34pc