It's no gravy train!
ELEVEN SHARED A TOTAL PAY-OUT OF JUST ¤43,000
GETTING elected to Gorey Town Council might not be the 'gravy train' that some in the electorate think, after figures released this week show that the 11 councillors who served during the past year cost the taxpayer just over €43,000, and this included a gratuity of around €10,000 to two councillors who retired or lost their seat in June's elections.
The council figures released to the Gorey Guardian show that the 12-month basic pay for a Gorey Town Councillor, formerly known as a Town Commissioner, is just ¤2,400.96, subject to tax.
They also receive set expenses for attending meetings, phone bills and so on, and can also submit claims for travelling to represent the council at various conferences and functions abroad.
Town councillors who are also county councillors do not receive a separate payment from the local authority for sitting on the Town Council, as it is included in their County Council payment.
Figures show the highest earner in 2009 was former councillor Bernard Crosbie, who lost his seat in June. Earning ¤8,734.48, he served as chairman of the outgoing council before the election.
His basic pay up to June was ¤1,093.77, but he also received a gratuity on leaving office of ¤ 4,532.89. In expenses, a ¤ 750 chairman's allowance was included in his total of ¤3,107.82. His claims included ¤1,258.57 in expenses for the first half of the year. He also represented the Council away from home on several occasions, claiming ¤1,849.25 for travel and subs. He said this week that this figure included representing Gorey at the Wexford London Association Dinner Dance in London, and at several conferences in towns such as Killarney and Letterkenny.
Next highest on the list was outgoing councillor Kay O'Gorman, who received a gratuity of ¤ 5,949.33, with a basic pay of ¤ 1,073.76, and expenses of ¤ 508.57, bringing her total to ¤7,531.66.
Current mayor Colin Webb earned ¤ 4,711.59 including ¤2,400.96 in basic pay for the full year, and ¤2,310.63 in expenses. The expenses figure includes a ¤ 750 chairman's allowance. He made no claim for travel and subs, and was allocated expenses of ¤808.57 for the first half of the year, and ¤1,502.06 for the second half, after he became mayor.
Mayor Webb explained that any payments to him were allocations set out in law either for being a councillor or for attending meetings. 'I don't claim for travel in any of the groups I'm in and in any of the groups I'm on I rarely claim for expenses,' he said.
He said that councillors are allocated a set amount of expenses for attending meetings, and this figure is reduced if a certain number of meetings are missed.
- Fintan LAMBE
