My disgust at payments

Published: 13 August, 2010

• TO my disgust, I recently received a leaked email which states that Homes for Islington (HfI) resident board members have informally agreed to award themselves payments for chairing meetings.

These are not just legitimate expenses, but sums to the order of £5,000 annually for HfI’s current chairwoman (who is a council tenant), £3,000 for the vice-chair (also a  tenant) and £500 for those chairing any other meetings. 

Notably, all the residents on HfI’s main board were supposedly voted on as volunteers performing a public service.

 I find it utterly reprehensible that they have the temerity to vote themselves remuneration without first attempting to consult with tenants, who will ultimately have to fork out hard-earned cash to pay for these allowances.

Furthermore, as if to add insult to injury it appears they intend to back-date it.

Since this country is in the worst financial state it has been in for decades, with central government cutting Islington’s finances by well over £7million this year alone, and the council in turn cutting tenants’ security budget to the bone to save money, it beggars belief that HfI considers its board to be an exception to the rule.

I have raised the subject of boardroom payments on a number of occasions in open debate with the chair and board of HfI, only to be categorically assured that it had no intention of doing so.

I will be attending the next open public board meeting of HfI to express in no uncertain terms the disgust felt by most tenants at this disgraceful attempt to convert a voluntary board into a professional board simply by virtue of paying it with tenants’ money.

After the disgraceful fiasco associated with our MPs’ expenses and bankers’ bonuses, I felt quite sure we had really scraped the very bottom of the bucket. Looks like we were wrong.

Dr BS POTTER
Chairman, Federation of Islington Tenants’ Associations and Islington Leaseholders’ Association