Do payments to councillors mean better representation?
AS A FORMER Belfast Corporation councillor (pre City Council days), I was a little bemused, put mildly, at the sums paid out to local councillors (Newtownabbey Times, May 21).
May I just paint a contrasting picture between then and now in the evolution of such payments and their respective merits.
In the early sixties there were no payments at all, one had to be dedicated to public work else give it a miss. As a young man raising a family, I was allowed unpaid leave by my employer. This meant that some weeks I attended four or five committees and took home about half a week's pay. All committees and council meetings took place during the working day.
The Corporation, having a number of statutory committees, carried a vastly heavier workload than existing local councils.
The question that has to be addressed now, when many meetings are held after normal working hours, is why is there a payment? Mileage and subsistence payments can be handled by officials when reasonably justified.
Finally, I wonder if the quality of representation is improved by the liberal distribution of hard-earned and ill-afforded ratepayers' money?
It is no longer possible to hide in the shadow of Westminster, and perhaps ratepayers will hold their breath to see how many local councillors hand back our money.
Concerned Whiteabbey resident.
(Name and address supplied)
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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