On 2 March 2010, Barnet Councillors approved their allowances for 2010/11 as determined by an Independent Remuneration Panel.
Just four months later and only 10 weeks after the election, senior Councillors now say the allowances are inadequate and have voted through huge increases for the leader, deputy leader and cabinet members. They have deferred £7,200 of their increase this year to balance the budget and next year costs will rise by £15,228. However there is no certainty about future years. This should be set in the context that Barnet Councillors' allowances already cost £1.4 million per annum.
At a time when everyone is being asked to make sacrifices, when local authority pay is frozen and services are being cut, we the undersigned do not believe it is appropriate for Councillors to have pushed through this new set of allowances.
We ask that the councillors rescind this decision and return to the allowance scale agreed at the Council meeting on 2 March 2010.