It is unknown why Sandwell Labour held back the list of councillors' allowances for so long since the end of the financial year on 31st March. Perhaps they were hoping to get the details out without anyone noticing given the pronouncements of their oafish "leader" [sic] Darren "The Turdmeister" Cooper.
For the financial year ended 31st March, 2013 the total basic allowances were £765,512.81 with the joke "special responsibility" payments amounting to a colossal £454,358.47 - making a total of, er, £1,219,871.20p!
But what is this! On 15th April the brutish and semi-literate character who uses the "private" twitter account named "Cllr Darren Cooper @sandwellleader" replied to someone concerned about cuts to council services and staff:
"Members have done there [sic] bit with around a 10% reduction".
(If you are not familiar with local authority lingo "members" is another word for councillors rather than an insulting description of them....)
Well what do the figures at 31st March, 2014 actually show following this "around a 10%" reduction", I wonder? In fact, the basic allowance total is down slightly to £764,570.88 but the cunning comrades have upped their "special responsibility" allowances to £463,931.74 making a total of £1,228,502.60p!
Rather than any sort of reduction the allowances have, in fact, gone up by £8,631.40p at a time when Sandwell Labour are slashing services and hurling staff out of work.
Fortunately any complaints about The Teflon Turd twittering are batted away on the basis that they are nothing to do with the Council but simply his own warped views. Accordingly, he can lie with impunity - "in a purely personal capacity" of course!
(By the way, the "members" also enjoyed slightly higher pension contributions up from £67,360.86 to £67,968.67 - so no reduction there either!)
Trebles all round!!!
THE SANDWELL SKIDDER - A COMMUNITY BLOG - READ THE SKIDDER, KIDDER!
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