XN000022-1973-10-17 — Page 41

39

-

Wednesday, October 17, 1973

URBAN COUNCIL VOTES CHAIRMAN

SPECIAL ALLOWANCE

Urban Councillors have agreed that the office of

Chairman should carry a special allowance of $15,000 a month, to take effect from October 1 this year.

The purpose of the allowance is to ensure that financial considerations do not prevent any eligible member of the public from serving the community in this way.

This applies equally to people with small incomes who could not otherwise afford the expense and to successful professional or business people who could not otherwsie afford the time. In fact there are some occupations which just could not be carried on full-time by a Council Chairman.

Councillors therefore decided to pay a realistic allowance to a Chairman who necessarily must spend a large part of his or her working day on matters concerning the Urban Council, which has & budge of $266 million a year and a staff of nearly 15,000.

Another factor taken into account is that while the post is comparable with top-level Government jobs, the Chairmanship is non-pensionable and the allowance lasts only for the period served.

Also, the Chairmanship does not include housing or any of the other benefits enjoyed by senior Government servants.

For some time before the Council won financial autonomy the subject of a special allowance for the Chairman had been brought up by various Unofficial Members.

The change in the Council's status in April this year put heavier responsibilities on all Councillors, especially the Chairman.

Councillors are now fully responsible for policy- making over a wide range of public affairs which bear directly on the livelihoods and well-being of the general public.

In November last year, when the subject of an allowance was again raised, it was decided to defer a decision until six months after the new-look Urban Council took over Hong Kong's civic affaire.

The question was raised by the senior Elected Councillor, Mr. B. Bernacchi, at the last meeting of the Finance Select Committee, on October 10.

The Chairman of the Council, Mr. A. de O. Sales, left the Chamber before the item was debated. The Chairman of the Finance Select Committee, Mr. Hilton Cheong-leen, was in the chair.

/Mr. B. Bernaachi ...