Councilor Pay
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Posts
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@99DylanJones 12160 wrote:
One are of difference that is often overlooked is the Council Officers should be using all their professional skills in their judegement — Councilors often don have the professional knowledge of the officer — the problem then is that they make judgments based on their emotional perspective rather than the professional facts or toe a party political line that has been drawn up outside of the meeting and decided at their respective Group meetings.
The results are therefore so predicable — Council Members 1 – Officers Nil
with the general public not even on the playing field until the next election when they can certainly be the referee to decide who stays on the field of play (the Council), who is not selected for the team (those who have not performed) and who the new players will be (those who have done things for their community and want to champion their area).
The problem is though the final selection of the First Team (Executive Board) is done behind closed doors when the real back scratching starts to make sure the inner sanctum of power is determined by Group Leaders who have the power to select and financially reward their first team players with a bonus even before they have done anything.
Every ratepayer and resident of Wrexham is a shareholder of Wrexham County Borough Council- there’s no dividend this year again as I am having to pay more to be a Shareholder in a year through rates yet I know I will receive less benefit. If this happened with a Football Team what would happen- the manager would get the sack and under performing players relegated to the benches and a wage cut for not being in the First Team.
Lets bring this type of sustem in and give the Shareholders (general public) a level of controlI like this. Well put into laymans language
The trouble is that the situation is worse than this. The General Public (the people who foot the bill) are actively discouraged from having any input to the decision making process. They may say that there will be a period of consultation before final decisions are made but in truth the decisions have already been made behind closed doors, and no amount of input from the public will change their intentions.
An independent body recommended to the government a pay rise in the NHS of their increment plus 1% , however they ignored it and went for either an increment or 1%. So these bodies that make recommendations can be overturned . My question is, what would have happened if the Wrexham Council Executive Board voted unanimously against the Councillors pay rise? As they were required to vote, there was an opportunity to vote against!
Slightly different issue re the Council — if you want to ask a question about any Council report that is to be discussed it needs to be in to the Guildhall by 12 noon the week before the meeting. This may seem fair enough- EXCEPT often the reports are not released after the noon deadline either on the Wed or the next day– how democratic is that. This is nothing to do with Party Politics but basic Democracy..
The question remains to be answered even now by any Councillor who knows the answer. Presumably they asked before they voted themselves a pay rise what the outcome would be if they voted against! Perhaps the WCBC representative on here will explain what the outcome would have been.
As for the public speaking slot at meetings ,the arrangements for applying to speak can be altered at the Annual General Meeting of the Council which will take place in May ( sometimes referred to as the Mayor Making Meeting ) It would be a step in the right direction if the time scale could be lengthened by 24 hours , especially for the Executive Board.
Thanks for info about how to get the procedure changed I just wish the Council themselves would realise that they are operating a totally undemocratic system and made the change themselves.
@99DylanJones 12057 wrote:
Your report about the potential pay rises for Clr is appalling to try and digest.
Council staff and other Public Sector employees have only had generally a 1% payrise over the past three or four years -n in the same period Council Members have had 7%– were is the justice!!@wxm 12089 wrote:
Defining a role, and getting value for money, are two different things.
Totally agree.
This is surely a case of reality has disappeared, and we have been engulfed by a process. Rather than facing whether Wrexham is getting the best for the community, the community has to end up in conflict with the Council.
Compared to much of the UK, Wrexham is a very clean and safe place to live, with a great deal of pride. However, the economy is weak and continues to weaken, and schools with declining performance and in special measures.
Freedom of Information requests to get democratic information, police officers attending the Council Chamber for a vote on members pay, public debate about council members themselves questioning the inability of the Council to scrutinise itself … are a failing for the community.
Unfortunately there has been a real level of distrust developed so everyone starts doubting anything the council is saying.
The current Council wear blinkers and ear muffs to avoid the engagement with people. So called consultations are run with a predetermined outcome despite public opposition.
In a period of major financial problems the Council needs its partners more than ever – the key one is the Public. Without this partnership working I fail to see how Wrexham will lift itself up.
Falling school standards, falling economy, falling employment, reduced services, closure of leisure facilities– all of these need a partnership approach with the public who are the ones that actually provide the funding for all of these services.
Council Members and Officers should take a step back and realise who it is that keep them in their positions –the General Public who are Ratepayers.
Start to engage and listen to people for the sake of the future of Wrexham.We are all responsible for calling our Councillors to account, perhaps when meetings are live streamed on the Internet it will become easier to see those who contribute and those who don’t! Some areas allow local bloggers to film meetings at no cost to the Council so here in Wrexham with £40,000 from the Welsh Assembly ( ring fenced unfortunately ) the live stream should be of excellent quality. Perhaps they will take questions directly from those watching on the Internet eventually, that would really increase public participation, interest and keep our Councillors on their toes!!
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