LIVERPOOL city councillors are facing a pay freeze in the coming year - but the collective pay-packet of the 90 elected members will still cost council tax payers over £1.3m.
And there’s a possibility that the few opposition councillors will lose "special responsibility" payments they receive on top of the basic £10,077 given to all 90 members.
That basic allowance costs the Town Hall just under £907,000.
On top of that, 40 city councillors receive pay for extra roles and duties, an arrangement that costs the city over £420,000.
Councillors' pay will be discussed by the city's independently chaired Constitutional Issues Committee on May 7 before going to the council’s annual meeting later that day.
One of the issues to be debated will be whether opposition leaders should only be paid the top-ups if they have sufficient numbers among their ranks.
Currently, only the leader of the 10-strong Lib Dem group receives pay for the role. If a requirement of 10pc membership of the council is adopted, the payment would continue. However, in next year’s town hall elections in Liverpool the Lib Dem group could fall to as low as three members.
The other issue is whether the leaders of other recognized parties – in Liverpool’s case the Liberals (three members) and the Greens (two members) should also be paid.
Here is how councillors' pay breaks down:
* Each of the nine members of the council’s cabinet are paid £14,032 as well as the basic £10,077.
Richard Kemp* The leader of the main opposition group, currently Cllr Richard Kemp, receives £12,233 plus the basic allowance.
* The 11 chairs of the council’s select committees (nine Labour, one Green and one Liberal), the chair of planning and the chair of licensing, as well as Labour’s chief whip are each paid £9,339 in addition to the basic allowance.
* Six mayoral leads – councillors charged with specific duties for Mayor Joe Anderson – are each paid £8,000 as well as the basic.
* One councillor, Mary Rasmussen, who is tasked with being champion for people and organisational change, receives £6,476 on top of her basic pay.
* Nine opposition councillors - eight opposition spokespeople and one opposition whip, effectively the shadow cabinet, each receive £4,677 in addition to the basic pay.
* In total, 28 Labour councillors currently pick up extra special responsibility money. Of the 12 opposition members earning extra, 10 are Lib Dems, one of a Green Party member and another, a member of the minority Liberal Group.
*Mayor Joe Anderson is paid £66,000, much lower than he is entitled to receive. The Mayor opted to be paid no more than he would receive if he was leader of the council.
