St Albans district councillors are to vote on increasing their allowance tonight.
The Independent Remuneration Panel, a committee of lay people, has recommended increasing the basic level of allowance all councillors receive by one per cent.
If the increase is voted through at tonight’s full council meeting, the allowance would rise from £5,535 to £5,590 in 2017/18.
The panel has proposed all other allowances for councillors should remain the same.
This will be the first increase in the basic allowance in nine years - which is partly how the panel justified the increase.
A report by the panel read: “Over the same period, but in different years, council officers have experienced either a pay freeze or pay rises below the rate of inflation.”
The increase would mean St Albans council has the fourth highest basic allowance of all Hertfordshire’s district councils. Hertsmere, Watford, and Stevenage are the top three.
It would also mean St Albans council has the highest total sum of basic allowances payable to its 58 councillors in the region - £321,030.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here