FORMER leader and deputy leader Mac Cotterell is to continue to receive an extra £4,000 a year as an “advisor” to the nine strong Cabinet headed by Alan Melton.
Cllr Melton decided to pay the cash out of a “special payments budget” of £6,000 available to him.
The ‘who does what job and for how much’ list was published today by Fenland Council. It had been delayed pending resolution of which Cabinet member gets a handful of higher allowances and for which post.
Biggest earner will be Cllr Melton who on top of his £4,531 basic councillor’s allowance receives an additional £15,994 as leader plus £9,062 a year for a Cabinet role.
His total package of £29,587 compares to £19,936 package paid annually to his deputy Chris Seaton.
Councillor Peter Murphy – Cabinet member for environment and growth- is also among the top earners with his £9,062 Cabinet fee topped up with the £4,531 he gets as a councillor making a total of £13,593.
Finance chief John Clark could, if he so wished, take a similar amount but has declined to take recent increases so has a take home package of £12,910.
Councillor Pop Jolley gets a lower responsibility payment of £8,155 a year for being in charge of leisure- similar sums paid to Councillor Ralph Butcher in charge of transport, Steve Garratt for children and sports development, David Oliver for community safety and licensing and Simon King for renaissance and conversation.
Cllr King is returning to Cabinet after a three year absence although eyebrows were raised with the discovery that Cllr Murphy is now in charge of planning policy.
The appointment adds to his return to the planning committee even though he was among those removed during last year’s ‘supermarket gate’ row.
At the time Cllr Melton insisted Cabinet members would no longer sit on the planning committee but then changed his mind.
Cllr Melton said: “I’ve decided to keep the Cabinet at nine members rather than the 10 the constitution allows for. That means revenue saving of about £16,000. We have to cut back everywhere else, including staff, so it’s only right that we should make some savings in the Cabinet, too.
“We have a strong team with the right mix of skills to guide the council over the next couple of years up to the next election.”
Cllr Clark now has responsibility for benefits and Cllr Jolley adds strategic assets to his brief.
Councillor Alex Miscandlon is the new chairman of the planning committee and Councillor Derek Stebbing becomes chairman of the staff committee. Councillor Jan French becomes vice-chairman of overview and scrutiny.
Outgoing planning committee chairman Phil Hatton wrote to Tory councillors outlining his disquiet at being removed. Cllr Melton insisted that he had offered promotion to Cabinet for Cllr Hatton but the offer had been rejected.
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