After the MAY local elections, a raft of new councillors will be taking their seats in council chambers across the county. Many will have dreams of rejuvenating town centres, and ‘delivering’ for residents - if their pre-election leaflets are anything to go by.
It is that time in the political cycle that leaflets are pushed through the letter box telling you how bad the last council have been and how dreadful they have made residents lives.
We will fix the potholes, make our roads safer, we will protect the environment, we will lead the fight to protect local green spaces and ensure green belt land is preserved. Your priorities are our priorities.
Only we can give real change..........
Year in year out, the same issues with local government arise. Ever increasing council tax, failing services, increased allowances for councillors, ballooning salaries for staff, taxpayers’ money squandered on pet projects, all while officers continue working from home. Hertfordshire is in the top ten worst areas in the UK for potholes.
Many of the problems we see in Whitehall and central government are mirrored at the local level. Finances in a mess and services too big and cumbersome to change. The 70 year high tax burden and average Band D council tax bills exceeding £2,000. Taxpayers’ cash wasted while frontline services suffer. Mega pay and perks for staff that those in the private sector could only dream of, with those officials basically running the show and councillors simply there to sign the cheques.
Many councils continue to blame central government funding cuts and plead poverty whilst remunerating failing chief executives with gold plated pay packets.
Local Government Pension Scheme
The LGPS, a defined benefit pension scheme, guarantees an inflation-linked income for life after retirement. While this type of pension is rare in the private sector due to its high cost, it remains standard in local government employment. Critics argue that maintaining such schemes is becoming increasingly untenable for taxpayers
It was only for council staff until 2003 when it allowed councillors to join the scheme. Already given generous allowances, paid for by the kind British taxpayer, they’re sinking their snouts further into the trough in taking a publicly funded pension too – for what is only meant to be a part time role. The council will not give details of councillors in the scheme, which takes £1 in £4 in council tax.
Tom McPhail, a pensions expert at financial advisory firm Lang Cat, described the LGPS as “generous” and said its continued provision was difficult to justify.
“In the context of today’s economy and the decline of private sector pensions, it is extremely difficult to justify the continued generosity of the local authority scheme,” McPhail said.
He pointed out that while private pensions have become less generous, the local authority scheme has "just sailed blithely on regardless", relying on taxpayers to subsidise their retirement.
The generous terms of the scheme mean members get a proportion of their final or career-average salary, with the proportion depending on how long you have been a member. the average council worker earning almost £40,000 a year, well above the national average.
People who have worked in local Government for most of their working life will usually get around half their final or career-average salary.
Councils pay in an extra 20 percent of their staff's pay into the scheme, in stark contrast to the average 4.5 percent in the private sector. Council workers contribute on average five percent of their salary themselves.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, called for change, saying: "These gold-plated pension schemes should be closed, with public sector benefits brought into line with those of the private sector."
But, your right as taxpayers and constituents, if you feel you want to know whether your councillor is taking a pension out of your pocket you can write to your councillors here to ask them if (a) they are on the local government pension scheme and (b) if they do whether they declare it in their register of members interests. It's our money and it's our right to know what the politicians are doing with it!
Let us know if you do!
A lot councils do not give councillors the opportunity to join the LGPS, maintaining the tradition of volunteerism, but in others councils a large number of councillors are enrolled in the Local Government Pension Scheme and more councillors are becoming professional politicians.
We need to reform of how local government is run, how the wages and pensions are re-addressed and linked to performance. The services that are provided should work and serve us and not the other way around.
Why are the council executives paid more or about the same as the prime Minister.
Why are a lot of staff earning over £100,000
Why are they paid for failure
Why shouldn't pensions to fall in line with the private sector
