Members at Mid Suffolk District Council voted unanimously for an
allowance freeze last night (Thursday 21 May) at their Full Council
meeting.
Original recommendations to the meeting suggested an increase of
£90, per member, on last years allowances. However the Leader of
Mid Suffolk District Council put forward the recommendation of
freezing member’s allowances.
At the meeting, Cllr Tim Passmore, Leader of the Council said:
“I strongly believe it is appropriate to forgo our allowances for
this year. The country is going through a very tough economic time.
It would not be appropriate for us to increase our allowances when
some families in the district will be struggling to pay bills and
some of our residents will have been badly affected by the current
recession. As members, we are here to represent our local
communities and by not taking the allowance increase, we are
reflecting on the difficult times that they may be facing.”
“As a council we have had a difficult time trying to balance our
books. With a poor settlement from Government of only 0.5%, the
falling levels of our income and the delay in the Local Government
Review, we have had to review our budget position and make some
difficult decisions to ensure that our residents do not suffer and
that we continue to deliver high quality services for them.”
Members will continue to receive £3,684 for their 2009/10
allowance. By not increasing the allowances, the Council has saved
£3,600.
-ENDS-
Media contact:
Vicky Smy, Senior Communications Officer, telephone: 01449
724850, email:
vicky.smy@midsuffolk.gov.uk
Tim Passmore, Leader of Mid Suffolk District Council, telephone:
01449 767131, mobile: 07725 085604, email:
timothy.passmore@midsuffolk.gov.uk
Notes to editors:
- There are 40 members at Mid Suffolk District Council.
- To view the original recommendation, please visit:
www.midsuffolk.gov.uk