SNP councillor denied ‘absurd’ new £26k post as opposition councillors join forces

SNP and Labour councillors were defeated by Liberal Democrat, Green and Conservative councillors in an attempt to install Cllr Denis Dixon as vice convener of the regulatory and sub-licensing committee – bumping his salary up to £26,207.

The SNP councillor was still being paid for his convenership of the south west locality committee, which was axed earlier this year. As part of blocking the new position being created, former locality conveners are no longer being paid extra public money, as of yesterday .

The city council is set to shake up its committee system next month, which could include responsibility for parks being shifted from the transport and environment committee to culture and communities – while some parts of the council’s economy strategy could report to the corporate strategy and policy committee.

An insider has suggested that planning convener, Cllr Neil Gardiner, could be hauled off the high profile development management sub-committee to concentrate on the planning committee, which deals with policy and the next version of the city’s local development plan.

A new paid position could be created on the sub committee, which determines planning applications. Cllr Gardiner has frustrated some opposition councillors during committees and it’s understood that a senior Conservative councillor stormed out of a meeting with him earlier this week.

Council leader Cllr Adam McVey, in calling for Cllr Dixon’s job to be approved, said it would not impact on any future changes to how the council operates. He said: “We are 
creating a vice convener of regulatory to deal with the enormous challenges being faced.

“It would be useful to strengthen that committee and give Cllr Fullerton a vice convener to help drive that forward. There is a committee structure report coming at the end of this month. The administration is likely to make further changes as a result of that.”

But Liberal Democrat group leader, Cllr Robert Aldridge, who himself was convener of the now defunct north west locality committee, called for the process to be halted, claiming the SNP-Labour administration was “putting the cart before the horse”.

He said: “There is an 
important report due very shortly, which will review the entire committee structure. It is only sensible to wait for that before we alter the system.

“It’s absurd to create new SRAs [special responsibility allowances] when we don’t know if the posts will even exist in two or three months’ time. We need to be clear that public money is being well spent.”

He added: “Our staff have gone through review after review and had to justify their own jobs. I think it is perfectly reasonable that as councillors we are subject to the same discipline before any additional public money is spent.

“Resources are tight and they should be spent in the best possible way.”