Taxpayers in Dudley could be saddled with a £40 million debt to fund a controversial equal pay deal for council staff, it was revealed today.
Dudley Council estimates implementing the single status pay deal for 11,000 workers will cost between £30 and £40 million.
Opposition leaders claim this year’s bumper council tax and rent increases, both of around five per cent, will not cover the shortfall and the authority will be forced to borrow the money through a long-term loan.
The issue will be discussed at Dudley Council’s full meeting on Monday. The agenda for the meeting talks about £50 million being borrowed from the Government’s Public Works Loan Board, money which it is believed to include up to £40 million needed to fund single status.Councillor David Sparks, Labour leader on the Conservative-led council, said the pay deal would be hugely expensive.
“It is going to cost a massive amount of money so therefore it is inevitable that some of that money will be borrowed,” he said.
“The Government has given approval for that money to be spread over a number of years. But where there is an issue is about whether this council, by going for low rate increases for a number of years, has built up a problem for itself. What is happening in Dudley is a decision to pay for the deal by borrowing and we are looking at figures of £30 to £40 million.”
The news is a blow to residents still reeling from top-rate council tax and rent rises confirmed earlier this year. The average band D householder will see the bill rise by £50 from £1,010 to £1,060 and the average tenant’s rent will shoot up £3.34 each week to more than £64.
By Mark Mudie
6 Comments
Dear Mr. or Ms. Journalist,
If you bothered to describe what a ’single status pay deal’ means and why it has been proposed then readers could make their own decisions on whether they support it or not!
Make the cllrs work for nout !!!
No2. Not very intelligent because,
1. How are they supposed to pay their bills?
2. You would only get very rich people as councillors just like a century ago!
Hello…. this is a govt agenda which has taken over 2 years to be sorted out and caused real worry for the staff of the council. This is not about councillors expenses but wages of people like me doing their best to deliver 4 star services to the residents of the borough on 1 star budgets.
Not good having to hear about the latest developments through the paper !!!
If Dudley council had paid fair wages to its carers, cleaners, etc in the first place it would not be in this mess. What about the thousands of worker who have struggled to live on a substandard wage?
No I dont work for the council, do a bit of homework yourself and you will see why this has to be done.
Grab Grab Grab - enough said.