Councillor allowances reduced by £70k

Councillors’ allowances have been reduced by almost £70,000 for the coming year.
 
In total £69,068 has been slashed from the amount that councillors collectively take home.
 
Cutting the allowances was one of the first things the Leader, Councillor Colin Lambert proposed to do when Labour took over the Council in December.
 
The savings have been found by reducing the allowance for the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, now the smallest group on the council. Previously the amount was £9,168. Now it is £7,600. Removing the £9,168 payment for the Leader of the Independent group, which no longer exists.
 
Payments for the chairman/woman of the planning sub committees for each Township has been removed. A saving of £2,556 per Township.
 
Ad-hoc allowances of £27.02 have also been removed.
 
Payments for the 12 opposition spokespersons have also been reduced.
 
Leader Colin Lambert, said: “This shows that we are not protecting councillors from the impact of the cuts.”