At a full Llanelli Town Council Meeting held on Monday 17th February, a Notice of Motion was proposed by Plaid Councillor Terry Davies of Tyisha Ward and seconded by Independent Councillor Michael Cranham of Bigyn Ward to scrap an ‘Attendance Allowance’ for Town Councillors.
The motion read:-
“This Council celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and yet it only began offering payments to members simply for attending meetings following a vote in 2023.
“It is important to stress that the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales did not mandate or recommend Town / Community Councils introduce these payments, only that Councils could introduce a payment of up to £30 at their own discretion.
‘Town Councillors’ attendance allowance expenses are unnecessary, counterproductive and come at an unjustifiable cost.
“The role of a Llanelli Town Councillor has always been recognised as a voluntary one for decades. This motion simply proposes that we return to this by removing the £30 per meeting payment for attendance whether in person or online. This would save the taxpayer about £12,000 each year.”
Following a recorded vote, the ruling Labour administration group all voted in favour of keeping the ‘Attendance Allowance’ expense. Opposition Councillors at the meeting stressed the payments will do absolutely nothing to maintain or enhance the reputation of the Town Council in the eyes of the residents who we represent. It was stated that some meetings barely last a few minutes and therefore do not require an attendance allowance.
Town Councillors have never been paid and have always been recognised as a voluntary position until the Labour-led administration took office back in 2022. Concerns were also expressed that at the same time pensioners have had their winter fuel payments scrapped while energy bills still rise and families in the Town wards continue to struggle to make ends meet through a cost-of-living crisis, leading many to question how such action can be justified?
A commitment was given at the meeting by Opposition Councillors that should they run the Council in the future, their first act will be to scrap this unnecessary expense to the Taxpayer and if the current opinion polls are anything to go by, that day may be coming a lot sooner rather than later!
At the same meeting, it was also decided that Llanelli ratepayers will see a further rise in their Council Tax. Labour leader Cllr David Darkin proposed the amount that Llanelli Town Council will take from its ratepayers will rise by a further 2.5%.
This follows a decision earlier this term to increase Council Tax by a record-breaking 54% which at the time was one of the biggest increases year-on-year for ratepayers set by a town or community council within the County, 5 times over the rate of inflation and saw the contribution of a Band D property already rising from £106.26 to £163.55.
Given the better than expected budget settlement and increases in both the general and earmarked reserves with over £200,000 earmarked for projects intended to be undertaken during the forthcoming year, Opposition Councillors put forward an amendment which called for a freeze in the amount of tax paid by residents without having any impact at all on the delivery of the Council services. The amendment was not accepted by the ruling group.
For information:
The Town Councillors who voted against the member expenses and for a freeze in the Town Council precept at the meeting were as follows:-
Cllr Michael Cranham
Cllr Amanda Carter
Cllr Terry Davies
Cllr John Jones
Cllr Rob James
Cllr Sean Rees
Cllr Louvain Roberts
Cllr Steve Williams
