According to a report in the Leicester Mercury this week, the elected Mayor of Leicester is in line for a 78% pay rise. Sir Peter Soulsby (who stood down as MP for Leicester South to run for the job this May) currently receives a salary of £56K a year.
The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) has recommended his salary rise to £100K. His deputy is also in line for a large rise, as are the city's forty seven councillors. It has recommended some savings too, such as scrapping vice-chairs of committees and the extra cash they receive.
All of this is happening at a time when the council is looking to make savings of £100 million in the next four years. Sir Peter said, "It's right that an independent panel reviews pay, rather than myself and councillors." He also went on to say, "It's important to remember we now also save £250,000 a year due to no longer having a chief executive."
I can't disagree with anything he's said. Scrapping the chief executive's role has proved the council can operate without one. This still isn't a justification for whopping pay rises for him, his deputy and councillors. It sends the wrong message to those 1000 council staff who have either been made redundant or are facing redundancy.
Councillors will vote on these pay rises next week. Hopefully, they will vote against them, and send the right message to Leicester taxpayers. If you live in Leicester, contact your councillor and tell them what you think. It is hard to justify these increases at the best of times. We are not living in the best of times. We are facing the most difficult economic challenges we've seen for decades. Leicester taxpayers cannot afford these increases, and for councillors to accept them would be a kick in the teeth for them, and for other council employees.According to a report in the Leicester Mercury this week, the elected Mayor of Leicester is in line for a 78% pay rise. Sir Peter Soulsby (who stood down as MP for Leicester South to run for the job this May) currently receives a salary of £56K a year.
The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) has recommended his salary rise to £100K. His deputy is also in line for a large rise, as are the city's forty seven councillors. It has recommended some savings too, such as scrapping vice-chairs of committees and the extra cash they receive.
All of this is happening at a time when the council is looking to make savings of £100 million in the next four years. Sir Peter said, "It's right that an independent panel reviews pay, rather than myself and councillors." He also went on to say, "It's important to remember we now also save £250,000 a year due to no longer having a chief executive."
I can't disagree with anything he's said. Scrapping the chief executive's role has proved the council can operate without one. This still isn't a justification for whopping pay rises for him, his deputy and councillors. It sends the wrong message to those 1000 council staff who have either been made redundant or are facing redundancy.
Councillors will vote on these pay rises next week. Hopefully, they will vote against them, and send the right message to Leicester taxpayers. If you live in Leicester, contact your councillor and tell them what you think. It is hard to justify these increases at the best of times. We are not living in the best of times. We are facing the most difficult economic challenges we've seen for decades. Leicester taxpayers cannot afford these increases, and for councillors to accept them would be a kick in the teeth for them, and for other council employees.
The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) has recommended his salary rise to £100K. His deputy is also in line for a large rise, as are the city's forty seven councillors. It has recommended some savings too, such as scrapping vice-chairs of committees and the extra cash they receive.
All of this is happening at a time when the council is looking to make savings of £100 million in the next four years. Sir Peter said, "It's right that an independent panel reviews pay, rather than myself and councillors." He also went on to say, "It's important to remember we now also save £250,000 a year due to no longer having a chief executive."
I can't disagree with anything he's said. Scrapping the chief executive's role has proved the council can operate without one. This still isn't a justification for whopping pay rises for him, his deputy and councillors. It sends the wrong message to those 1000 council staff who have either been made redundant or are facing redundancy.
Councillors will vote on these pay rises next week. Hopefully, they will vote against them, and send the right message to Leicester taxpayers. If you live in Leicester, contact your councillor and tell them what you think. It is hard to justify these increases at the best of times. We are not living in the best of times. We are facing the most difficult economic challenges we've seen for decades. Leicester taxpayers cannot afford these increases, and for councillors to accept them would be a kick in the teeth for them, and for other council employees.According to a report in the Leicester Mercury this week, the elected Mayor of Leicester is in line for a 78% pay rise. Sir Peter Soulsby (who stood down as MP for Leicester South to run for the job this May) currently receives a salary of £56K a year.The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) has recommended his salary rise to £100K. His deputy is also in line for a large rise, as are the city's forty seven councillors. It has recommended some savings too, such as scrapping vice-chairs of committees and the extra cash they receive.
All of this is happening at a time when the council is looking to make savings of £100 million in the next four years. Sir Peter said, "It's right that an independent panel reviews pay, rather than myself and councillors." He also went on to say, "It's important to remember we now also save £250,000 a year due to no longer having a chief executive."
I can't disagree with anything he's said. Scrapping the chief executive's role has proved the council can operate without one. This still isn't a justification for whopping pay rises for him, his deputy and councillors. It sends the wrong message to those 1000 council staff who have either been made redundant or are facing redundancy.
Councillors will vote on these pay rises next week. Hopefully, they will vote against them, and send the right message to Leicester taxpayers. If you live in Leicester, contact your councillor and tell them what you think. It is hard to justify these increases at the best of times. We are not living in the best of times. We are facing the most difficult economic challenges we've seen for decades. Leicester taxpayers cannot afford these increases, and for councillors to accept them would be a kick in the teeth for them, and for other council employees.