At least two councillors received reminders over unpaid council tax, a freedom of information request reveals.
The councillors, none of whom is still a member, were sent the reminders at some point between 2021 and 2023.
The information was revealed in a response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Act by Brighton and Hove News.
But despite being asked for more detail, including names, the council is refusing to disclose more detail.
Brighton and Hove News asked:
1) How many councillors received reminders over missed council tax
payments in 2021, 2022 and 2023?
2) For each, how much council tax was unpaid?
3) For each, did they subsequently receive court summons as a result of failing to pay in 2021, 2022 and 2023?
4) For each court summons, what was the outcome?
5) Please name any councillor issued with a court summons.
In response, the council said: “The number of councillors who have received reminders over missed council tax payments is equal to or less than five.”
It said it was refusing to specify how many have received reminders because individuals could potentially be identified from low numbers. It did not answer the question about how many summons were issued.
It added: “The councillors in question are no longer serving and whilst there may be a legitimate public interest in disclosing council tax information for an incumbent councillor, the appropriate balance lies in withholding the details for an ordinary member of the public.”
Perhaps they didn’t live there ? I mean that could never happen with Councillors could it ?
Appalling, behaviour. Sack them.
Read the article again.
Tell me you didn’t read the article beyond the title, without telling me you didn’t read the article beyond the title.
Who cares? I’ve received notices in the past because I’ve forgotten to set up the direct debit. Yes they should be setting an example, but it’s a failure of admin, not a scandal.
If it’s anything like my experience, they actually had paid it weeks ago but were still sent a reminder letter…
And the usual secretive behaviour from Bella Snakey’s slippery council. Why is she so keen to avoid any transparency?
FOI requests are dealt with by officials not councillors.
As the article says , the councillors concerned aren’t even councillors anymore !
Reminders are sent auto-pilot if 1 day late, as in 1 day late on the system regardless if payment is on the way via Cyber space Post Office E-payments et al
Who cares if they got council tax reminders or even if they were in financial difficulty. Not relevant to us.
No longer councillors, so greens then lol
Most of the tories went too.
That’s a pretty baseless and silly assumption.
Probability is hardly baseless I’m afraid! That’s mathematics.
I think it is also worth noting that the basic allowance for Ward Councillors was £13,827 in the year ending Apr 2023. Converted to a 40-hour working week, this is an hourly rate of £6.65ph. Not enough to live on, especially within Brighton (Average rent in March was £1,723pcm, or £20,676, ONS).
Naturally, this means most Ward Councillors also have second jobs to cover their income. I also think this contributes to why some councillors are harder to access than others because they cannot afford to dedicate their entire time to their role. Even with the special responsibility allowance, there’s only a handful of councillors that could afford the average rent on their own, with no secondary income.
I guess there is a conversation to have about Ward Councillors’ role and remuneration, and the expectations that either side means compared to what they are now.
and do they pay tax on that income above £12570 threshold?