Councillors demand higher pay, benefits

Councillors demand higher pay, benefits

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite their dismal record passing legislation, city councillors
are demanding an increase in salary and benefits in 2006 and are
threatening to stall the city budget deliberations until they get
it.

Council speaker Ade Surapriatna said on Friday that should the
government ignore their demands, councillors would not deliberate
the city's 2006 budget.

"The City Council will abide by a decision of the consultative
body of provincial legislators across the country not to discuss
city budgets for 2006 if the government does not accommodate our
demands," Ade said.

The demand for a pay hike comes despite the councillors' poor
record in council chambers. Since their inauguration in August
last year, city councillors have managed to deliberate and pass
three bylaws, far lower than their target of 22 bylaws to August,
or two a month.

The salary and benefits for council members are regulated by
the central government through Presidential Decree No 24/2004 on
protocol and financial for leaders and members of regional
councils (DPRD).

The salary package for councillors are different in each
region, depending on their financial status.

In Jakarta, each councillor earns a basic salary of around Rp
3 million a month, which inflates to at least Rp 20 million
(US$1,941) monthly when benefits are included.

Should city councillors carry out their threat, the Jakarta
administration said it would use this year's budget, who stood at
some Rp 14 trillion (US$1.4 billion) for next year.

Ade said that legislative councils nationwide had asked for
the central government to provide official vehicles, housing
allowances and higher health insurance for councillors, as well
as operational funds for council leaders.

"If the governor is entitled to operational funds, why not
council leaders? We often donate our own money to victims of
natural disasters because there is no budget allocation for it,"
Ade said.

"And if officials of the city administration up to the
subdistrict heads get official vehicles, why not city
councillors, he said.

Ade said councillors were also asking for the replacement of
the term "house rental fees" as stated in the presidential decree
with the phrase "house allowance."

"If we use rental fees, there will be a legal consequence for
councillors who do not use the facility for renting a house.
Meanwhile, if the fund is treated as allowance, there will be no
legal consequences. Councillors can freely use the money (for
whatever they want)," he said.

Governor Sutiyoso earlier issued gubernatorial decree
No.17/2005 as a directive for the later presidential decree.

Sutiyoso's decree set councillors' monthly housing allowance
was at Rp 20 million for leaders and Rp 15 million for members.

If they sit on the budgetary committee, become a commission
member, are elected a member of council's ethics committee or if
they make official visits to constituents, they receive a monthly
stipends ranging from Rp 130,000 to Rp 326,250 for their work
deliberating each bylaw.

The decree also allocates funds for overseas and national
trips for all councillors. Each councillor (leader or member)
receives a Rp 250,000 per day allowance during official out-of-
town trips.

For official visits inside Jakarta, councillors receive local
transportation fees per visit -- Rp 1 million for council
speaker, Rp 900,000 for deputies and Rp 750,000 for members.

They are also entitled to Rp 1.5 million payouts for the
Speaker, Rp 1.4 million for deputies and Rp 1.25 for members to
fund official activities during the visit.