05 July 2009Residents who would like to help their local district or borough council set councillors' allowances are being invited to join an independent panel.
Sevenoaks District Council, Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council operate a Joint Independent Remuneration Panel with responsibility for making recommendations on the amounts the three authorities' Councillors should be paid in allowances.
Councillors are elected representatives and they decide council policy and take decisions about how the authority is run. Unlike council staff, Councillors are not paid a salary, instead they can claim expenses for their work.
The Panel has Government guidance and information from each of the councils to enable it to form a judgement and make recommendations on a scheme of allowances for each authority.
Panel members will be paid an annual retainer plus an hourly rate for time spent on Panel business to cover their expenses.
Applications are invited from the public, businesses and the voluntary sector.
Applicants must live within one of the three local authority areas, be able to demonstrate a high degree of personal integrity and be able to attend a number of evening meetings during the course of the year.
They cannot be an employee of any local authority nor a voluntary organisation that receives financial support from any of the councils.
There are four vacancies for Panel members.
For an informal discussion on the role of the Panel please telephone David Hughes on 01732 876022.
For an application pack, please e-mail personnel.services@tmbc.gov.uk or telephone the 24 hour Recruitment Answerphone on 01732 876011.
The closing date for applications is 12 October with interviews being held on 22 October 2007.
