Councillors' 14% Pay Increase adds nearly £10,000 to Budget

Residents' Party councillors voted themselves a huge increase in their allowances from August this year despite a move from the Lib Dem Opposition to limit the rise to inflation.

Cllr David Buxton, who is deaf and uses a sign language interpreter at council meetings, was voted down when he opposed the increase and was personally attacked by Cllr Eber Kington, unofficial leader of the ruling Residents Party, who implied that the massive increases would help pay for his signer. Cllr Kington refused to apologise to Cllr Buxton, resulting in members of his own party offering their personal apologies to him after the meeting, on Cllr Kington's behalf.

Cllr Buxton said "Cllr Kington's speech will stick in everyone's memory long and hard. The point I was making was nothing to do with anyone's council expenses. It was about the huge pay increase being suggested. To twist my argument and launch what I and just about everyone else regarded as a personal attack on my deafness, was disgraceful."

The basic allowance for a councillor was increased from £2802 to £3200 pa.