tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post2535187692119273593..comments2023-05-08T10:46:34.371+01:00Comments on Y Cneifiwr: Soch, soch! It's councillor expenses timeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-29648827363706000192012-04-19T12:01:01.226+01:002012-04-19T12:01:01.226+01:00There is definately somethibng wrong when the age ...There is definately somethibng wrong when the age profile of our council is as it is - old.<br /><br />This of course will suite the officers and proably some on the executive as they can carry through policies without the need for explanation or scrutiny.<br /><br />On the other hand i am suspicious of the motives of younger senior councillors who enjoy the small time politics but have never held a proper job either in the private or public sector. How can someone purport to have knowledge and experience sufficient to exercise power over the rest of us without ever knowing what it is like to have to get up in the morning and do a job of work ? <br /><br />The obvious way around this is to hold council meetings and some comittee meetings in the evenings to allow working people to engage and stand.<br /><br />We should not underplay the importance of the council - they have quite a lot of power over our day to day lives and are responsible for supervising a huge amount of tax payers money.<br /><br />There should be an age limit on being a councillor - how can it be right that judges have to retire at 70 and yet untrained people can sit on a council, having power over our lives well into their 80s. Its just not right.<br /><br />Also having scanned some of the expense claims, there seems to be a lot of unhealthy eating going on. Cant they be pursuaded to eat salads sometimes. If so they may be more alert and actually speak in meetings. Just a thought !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-86766041624457007742012-04-19T07:26:55.288+01:002012-04-19T07:26:55.288+01:00I disagree. If you read the piece, you will see th...I disagree. If you read the piece, you will see that I think allowances should be increased to stop penalising younger people. Nearly all of the councillors are claiming either the bare minimum or nothing at all, but there are a few whose high claims stick out. In one case the expenses claimed equate to 150 trips to Carmarthen a year for an elderly councillor who rarely if ever speaks at meetings and is not on any committees.Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-71513994602262993602012-04-18T23:02:33.413+01:002012-04-18T23:02:33.413+01:00You have been a bit sucked in here.
You are not ...You have been a bit sucked in here. <br /><br />You are not happy about the expenses the elected by us claim. <br /><br />In real time where does this fit in with telephone number bonuses for bankers who cannot explain why they are worth the money. <br /><br />RYou mean there's more???https://www.blogger.com/profile/12736627336832800972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-15945413758722466162012-04-17T07:32:47.498+01:002012-04-17T07:32:47.498+01:00Thanks Anon. There was a press story a couple of y...Thanks Anon. There was a press story a couple of years back which was based on an FOI request. At that time, if I remember rightly, over 50 of the 74 councillors had joined the scheme.Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-87375077275828198502012-04-16T22:59:17.589+01:002012-04-16T22:59:17.589+01:00On the subject of councillors pensions, those that...On the subject of councillors pensions, those that have opted into the council scheme(and we don't know how many have of course)are, with a 6% contribution and a generous subsidy from the taxpayer, entitled to an annual pension calculated on their career average 'pay', which is then multiplied by the number of years service, and divided by 80. On retirement, a lump sum is payable which is three times the yearly pension. So, if a councillor has averaged £30,000 over, say 13 years, he, or she will be entitled to roughly £5000 a year and a £15,000 (by my reckoning) lump sum on retirement. Not bad eh?! For some, the gravy train never stops.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-7698085021175593012012-04-16T09:59:19.522+01:002012-04-16T09:59:19.522+01:00There we go, I knew you would want to write about ...There we go, I knew you would want to write about Llanddarog ward at some point ;-). Wyn Evans, Independent and uncontested since the 1980s, is facing a battle with Plaid Cymru's Simon Martin. It'll be interesting (locally!).<br /><br />"Perhaps one way of doing that would be to pay much lower allowances to people entitled to a pension and rather more generous allowances to younger people to compensate for loss of earnings."<br /><br />Brilliant idea. So many energetic and talented working-age people wouldn't consider standing until they're retired. And then their ideas and energies often start to wither. One simple way to do it (but not the most effective) would be to take out the equivalent of the state pension from any councillor of state pension age, and share out between the young'uns.<br /><br />Soch soch yn wir:<br />http://www.esl-languages.com/en/animal-sounds.htm<br /><br />Iwan RhysAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com