Mayor’s £96,000 budget provides ‘good value’

2:00pm Thursday 9th October 2008

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THE borough mayor of Basingstoke and Deane is costing the taxpayer nearly £100,000 a year – but civic leaders say the office provides good value for money.

Following a Freedom of Information Act request from The Gazette, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has revealed it spent £96,279.65 during Councillor Warwick Lovegrove’s mayoral year in 2007-08.

The figure was an increase on the previous year, when the borough council’s mayoral budget was £91,596.25.

In 2007/08, the borough council spent £43,611.90 on transport, £26,484.77 on hospitality and £4,254 on out-of-pocket expenses.

The remaining £21,928.98 was spent on publications, stationery, flowers, postage, costs of repairing and insuring the mayoral chain, and venue hire for civic functions.

The figure does not include the salary of the administrative staff for the mayor which, according to the borough council, is between £28,019 and £33,291. The transport figure covers the cost of the mayor’s chauffeur service.

According to the borough council’s website, the role of the mayor is to promote the borough and attend civic functions in the area.

Tony Curtis, chief executive of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, said: “The mayor is regar-ded as a leading citizen by the whole Basingstoke and Deane community.

“This is reflected in the number of invitations – more than 500 – which are received each year. The community also shows its continued support by contributing more than £35,000 each year to the mayor’s charity appeal.”

He added: “To ensure we continue to get value for money, and make savings where possible, all our services are reviewed regularly. The chauffeur car service for the mayor has just been through such a review.”

Former borough council leader Councillor Stephen Reid, who represents Buckskin, said the money raised for charity and the promotion of the area outweighs the money spent by the borough on the position.

He said: “At the end of the day, the mayor’s role pays for itself and more. It gives the society a very good non-political focus.

“If a job is worth doing, then it’s worth doing properly. If that requires some expenditure then, as long as money coming back in is equal or greater than that figure, it is money well spent.”

Another former council leader, Cllr Paul Harvey, who represents Norden, said the public supported the choice of a ceremonial mayor when they voted in a referendum in 2000 to have a Cabinet system of local government, rather than an elected mayor with executive powers.

He added: “I do not think we should be putting ourselves up for comparison with other authorities, but it is important to have the support of residents for a ceremonial mayor.”