BASINGSTOKE and Deane Borough Council have rubber-stamped proposals that will see councillors given a two per cent increase in allowances.

At last month’s full council meeting, councillors unanimously voted in favour of the proposals, which lifted the basic allowance of councillors to £7,299 for the 2020-21 municipal year.

In addition to these, certain councillors are eligible for a number of special responsibility allowances based on extra roles they have. This varies from £612 for the vice-chairman of committees, to £24,312 for the leader of the council.

In addition, group leaders are given an extra allowance, as are the mayor and deputy mayor.

In total, £625,239 will be paid out to councillors across the 2020-21 municipal year.

You can see the full list of how much your councillors earn below.

A spokesperson for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council said: “In line with the Local Authorities Members’ Allowance Regulations 2003, the council is required to make a Members’ Allowances Scheme each year which is approved by Council and which follows the recommendations of a report by an Independent Remuneration Panel.

 “Councillors receive basic allowances for their role and a number of councillors receive special responsibility allowances for holding positions such as the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the council, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, cabinet members, chairs and vice chairs of committees and party group leaders. Councillors can only receive one special responsibility allowance.”

Councils are an important function of democracy, with many issues devolved from government level.

In Basingstoke, we have a two-tier system - Hampshire County Council look after things such as transport, education and social care, whereas Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council look after council tax, waste collections and housing.

A third of BDBC is usually put up for election each year, and in the fourth year of the cycle, HCC elections take place. However, because of boundary change, 2021’s vote will see all 60 councillors up for re-election. 54 will be elected.

The 2021 vote is being delayed from May 2020, due to coronavirus.

A number of borough councillors also serve as county councillors, and will therefore earn an extra allowance from that.

Which councillors earn the most?

Basingstoke Gazette:

1. Ken Rhatigan

Ward: Kingsclere (CON)

Allowance: £31,611

LEADER of the council, Cllr Ken Rhatigan, tops the list in terms of allowances. He is set to net £31,611 in 2020-21.

On top of the basic allowance, his special responsibility allowance as leader is £24,312.

As leader, he is part of the cabinet, the Basing View executive committee and the Human Resources committee.

Basingstoke Gazette: Cllr Simon Bound
2. Simon Bound

Ward: Rooksdown

Allowance: £23,499 (CON)

Cllr Simon Bound actually has two positions - as deputy leader of the council, he steps in during Cllr Rhatigan’s absence, whilst also holding a portfolio of communities, culture and partnerships.

As per the council’s rules, he only collects the SRA for deputy leader, which is £16,200, as well as the usual basic allowance.

Basingstoke Gazette:

3. Rebecca Bean, Hayley Eachus, Hannah Golding, John Izett, Tristan Robinson, Mark Ruffell

Allowance: £19,458

In joint third are the remaining members of the cabinet. They are responsible for the management of various parts of the council, and are paid an SRA of £12,159.

Basingstoke Gazette:
9. Andy McCormick, Brighton Hill South (LAB) and Paul Miller, Chineham (CON)

Allowance: £14,598

In joint ninth are Cllrs Andy McCormick and Paul Miller. Cllr McCormick is the Labour group leader, and earns an SRA for that of £7,299. Cllr Miller is the first of the committee chairs, earning £7,299 for heading up Development Control (DC).

Basingstoke Gazette:

11. Laura Edwards, Chineham (CON); Paul Frankum, Popley West (LAB); Stuart Frost, Oakley and North Waltham (CON); Roger Gardiner, Pamber and Silchester (CON); Paul Gaskell, Basing (CON); David Leeks, Tadley South (CON); and Nicholas Robinson, Bramley and Sherfield (CON)

Allowance: £13,374

These councillors are all chairs of various committees, earning an extra £6,075.

Basingstoke Gazette:

18. Diane Taylor

Ward: Oakley and North Waltham (CON)

Allowance: £12,150

Cllr Diane Taylor is currently serving her second term as Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane. She chairs full council meetings, and earns a special responsibility allowance of £4,851.

As mayor, Cllr Taylor is the borough’s first citizen.

Basingstoke Gazette:

19. Gavin James, Eastrop (LDM) and Ian Tilbury, Overton, Laverstoke and Steventon (BDI)
Allowance: £10,941

Joint 19th on the list are two party leaders on BDBC: Cllr Gavin James and Cllr Ian Tilbury.

They earn an SRA of £3,642, which is roughly half the principle opposition group leader.

Basingstoke Gazette: Winner of the Basing ward, Onnalee Cubitt

21. Onnalee Cubitt

Ward: Basing (CON)

Allowance: £8,700

Cllr Onnalee Cubitt, currently deputy mayor, is expected to take over from Cllr Diane Taylor as mayor of Basingstoke and Deane in May 2021.

She is also part of the Audit and Accounts committee and the Economic, Planning and Housing committee, whilst also is a reserve on DC.

The full list

1. K Rhatigan: £31,611

2. S Bound: £23,499

3= R Bean: £19,458; H Eachus: £19,458; H Golding: £19,458; J Izett: £19,458; T Robinson: £19,458; M Ruffell: £19,458

9= A McCormick: £14,598; P Miller: £14,598

11= L Edwards: £13,374; P Frankum: £13,374; S Frost: £13,374; R Gardiner: £13,374; P Gaskell: £13,374; D Leeks: £13,374; N Robinson: £13,374

18. D Taylor: £12,150

19= G James: £10,941; I Tilbury: £10,941

21. O Cubitt: £8,700

22. A Court: £8,025

23= T Capon: £7,911; K Carruthers: £7,911; G Falconer: £7,911; A Konieczko: £7,911

27= 34 councillors: £7,299, incl.: C Ashfield, M Bound, R Cooper, J Cousens, J Frankum, A Freeman, D George, S Godesen, S Grant, P Harvey, R Hickling, R Hussey, L James, T Jones, S Keating, C Kinnear, W Lovegrove, S Mahaffey, J McKay, C Phillimore, D Potter, D Putty, C Regan, T Reid, C Sanders, E Still, K Taylor, M Taylor, C Tomblin, J Vaux, G Watts, J Westbrook, M Westbrook, C Wooldridge.