Allowances too high
The Liberal Democrat Proposal to save over £80,000 of the Borough Council's allowance budget was lost on Wednesday. The rest of the Executive committee closed ranks behind the Labour Group proposal voting for the higher figures. Liberal Democrat Leader Michael Headley explained why his group was proposing a much lower settlement than everyone else. Cllr Headley said, "People become councillors because of the good they want to do for local people not because they are attracted by money. We can't have a system that encourages people to be in it for the money." With a total budget £80,040 below next years allocated budget, the Liberal Democrat proposal was designed to return this £80,000 back to providing services. The Labour group weighed in with a £4,500 basic allowance and a total budget of £301,100, which they admitted had been lowered after discussions with the Liberal Democrat group. Unfortunately the Liberal Democrat proposal was defeated. "We voted against the Labour Proposal because it was too high." Sa