A businessman left "flabbergasted" at the 36 per cent pay rise awarded to his local council leader has gathered more than 1,200 signatures on a petition calling for her to resign.
But Paul Gaunt has to get more than 11,000 for his demands that Wiltshire Council leader Jane Scott and her cabinet colleagues – who received a 22 per cent hike in their allowances – to be brought to County Hall.
Mrs Scott has refused to comment on the decision by the full council to increase the leader's allowances, with a council spokesman left to explain that the allowances increase was for the position, and not the individual person.
Wiltshire Council made more than 250 redundancies in the summer, the third year that hundreds of staff have lost their jobs.
Earlier this month, councillors voted to increase allowances for cabinet members by 22 per cent, from £15,101 to £18,433. The council leader's position also received an increase, and because it also involves chairing the increasingly-important joint health board with the NHS in Wiltshire, Mrs Scott will see her total allowances rise from £37,355 to £52,227 – an increase of 36.5 per cent.
A council spokesman said Mrs Scott would not comment herself on the council's decision.
"As this was a decision of full council and one that is based on posts and not people, it is not appropriate for Jane Scott to comment," he said.
"This was a decision made by full council and will impact on every Wiltshire councillor, regardless of their political party. Allowances are allocated to the posts and not the councillors who currently hold those positions. A councillor can choose to accept or not accept the increase in allowance," he added.
Wiltshire became the first major local authority in the country to make its chief executive redundant two years ago, and other senior director posts have also been dispensed with, saving the council as much as a million pounds a year in senior executive wages. But that also means the elected leader and the cabinet posts have largely taken over the running of the council from civil servants, a fact reflected in an independent study into the roles and responsibilities, which recommended the allowances hike.
Mr Gaunt, a business consultant from Broughton Gifford, set up the petition in disgust at the allowance rise. He said he had been overwhelmed by the reaction, with 1,200 people in less than a fortnight signing up to his call for Mrs Scott and the cabinet to resign, and stand again for election. He created a website www.wehavesolutions.co.uk to gather signatures.
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