Motion - Salary Levels
The following motion was submitted at the meeting of the Council on 9th September 2009 by Councillors P. M. McDonald and S. P. Shannon. The Chairman agreed to refer the matter to Cabinet for consideration:
“Many residents throughout the district are being affected by the credit crunch and are going through difficult times. Each year the council tax is increased making the financial situation for many even worse. With so many people going through such difficult times, paying officers salaries of a hundred thousand pounds plus cannot be justified. Therefore this Council takes immediate measures to reduce salaries of a hundred thousand a year or more by twenty five per cent.”
Minutes:
Further to the referral by Council on 9th September 2009, consideration was given to the following motion submitted by Councillor P. M. McDonald:
“Many residents throughout the district are being affected by the credit crunch and are going through difficult times. Each year the council tax is increased making the financial situation for many even worse. With so many people going through such difficult times, paying officers salaries of a hundred thousand pounds plus cannot be justified. Therefore this Council takes immediate measures to reduce salaries of a hundred thousand a year or more by twenty five per cent.”
Councillor McDonald spoke on the motion and re-iterated that he felt in the current financial climate the Council should be setting an example in restraining salaries to sustainable levels. Councillor S. P. Shannon also spoke in favour of the motion and referred to other examples where cuts had been made in the light of the current situation.
The Cabinet noted that within the current proposals there would only be one post which fell into this category and costs would be split between Bromsgrove and Redditch. The establishment of a Joint Management Team would result in significant overall savings to both Councils and an evaluation process had taken place to establish salary levels which were realistic in the current market. It was vital that the salary levels reflected the responsibilities and demands of the new posts and enabled the recruitment and retention of officers with the necessary levels of experience and ability.
RESOLVED that the motion be not supported.