Index – National – Large differences in the remuneration of municipal representatives



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It is part of the judgment of politicians that we are generally associated with material conditions that differ significantly from the average standard of living, and that, compared to the needy sectors of society, it is as if it were a caste at an unattainable height. However, there can be great differences between a politician and a politician, if only the official We examine the level of your salary.

Hearing the word MP, most people put MPs and local government representatives under one hat, while the former are much safer and more legal, while the latter

remuneration is determined by local regulations.

This means that even within Budapest, but also at the national level, there can be large differences between the rates set for local government representatives.

Only sobriety sets the limit

According to the Local Government Law approved in 2011, municipalities can decide on remuneration, but the law does not establish its level. So

The deputies may vote for themselves an amount that does not compromise the performance of the mandatory tasks of the local government.

Anything can mean extra money

  • local committee membership,
  • presidential
  • or vice president status.

But this is not set in stone either, the municipality is not even obliged to give extra benefits for these.

There is also an example, and it is possible, that a body could waive parliamentary fees entirely. After the 2014 municipal elections, the summary of the Index listed several small settlements where parliamentarians work for free. For example, in Verőce in Pest county and in Paloznak near Lake Balaton, this is still the case.

In the first wave of the epidemic, it was the case that during the emergency, some municipalities reduced the salaries of the deputies by modifying the decree, and the amount saved was spent on expenses related to the municipality’s epidemic.

In the spring, therefore, the income of the mayor, deputy mayors and deputies was reduced by fifty percent in Komárom. In Mezőberény, MPs’ fees were reduced by 50% from April 1 and by 75% from May 1 until the end of the emergency declared in the first wave. In Budapest in the XVII. The district offered 50 percent of the mayor’s salary for defense spending in April-May, and the same was voted for deputies.

Municipal representatives may also be entitled to benefits in kind: their representatives can provide them with work-related travel passes, mobile phones, Internet services, and notebooks. The budget margin determines what subsidies MEPs can receive.

Size Matters

A small town can pay less than a city or, for example, metropolitan districts in terms of salary and benefits.

Fees can range from a few tens of thousands of florins to hundreds of thousands of florins.

In comparison, in the smallest settlement in Hungary (total population: 12 people), in Iborfia, Zala county, the gross amount of the representation fee is 55,000 HUF / month (the board consists of the mayor and two representatives ).

In Miskolc, a city with county status, the monthly deputies fee is HUF 150,000 gross, and the representative who is also a committee member is entitled to a gross monthly salary of HUF 75,000 in addition to the basic fee. If the representative is a member of two different committees at the same time, he will receive a total gross monthly remuneration of HUF 112,500 in addition to the basic fee.

In addition to the basic fee, the chairman of the commission is entitled to a gross monthly fee of HUF 150,000 and the vice chairman is entitled to a gross fee of HUF 112,500. If the committee chair is a member of another committee at the same time, he can earn HUF 30,000 gross per month in addition to the basic fee and chair fee.

In the case of a vice chair of a committee who is a member of another committee at the same time, this means a gross monthly amount of HUF 30,000 in addition to the basic fee and the vice chair fee. A field representative can earn HUF 225,000 gross in Miskolc with a simple committee membership.

In Szombathely, the pencil will be thicker, at least the parliamentary fees are 250,000 gross HUF, and with committee membership this can be supplemented by an additional 50,000 gross HUF. As a councilor, your salary can be increased by 350,000 HUF per month and as a faction leader by 250,000 HUF gross per month.

Budapest is less transparent

In the districts of the capital it is more difficult to know how the salaries of municipal representatives are calculated, since they are calculated on the basis of the salary base of public officials applicable to officials in the mayors at any given time, or compared to the salary of the mayor.

  • In the first district of Budapest, in the municipality of Budavár, the salary of the local government representatives is calculated by multiplying the salary base of public servants, the monthly amount is 220,000 gross HUF, the committee membership plus 110,000 gross monthly HUF , the chairman’s position on the committee plus HUF 176,000 gross.
  • Budapest XXI. In Csepel, the monthly salary of local government representatives is HUF 249,300 gross. Additional gross monthly HUF 149,580 are paid for being a committee member. At Csepel, a separate salary was not set for the chairman and vice-chairman of the commission, but an additional allowance, that is, the former is supplemented with an additional monthly gross fee of HUF 99,720 and the second with an additional monthly gross fee of 49,860 HUF.

Respect is a double edged sword

The rights and obligations of the representative of the local government are regulated by Law CLXXXIX of 2011 of Local Governments. regulated by law. It is difficult to limit how many hours of work a delegation can mean per day, it is difficult to determine the work of a representative in hourly wages.

The Vocal will participate in the meetings of the Board of Representatives and in the work of the committees of which he is a member. According to the law, at least six meetings of the Board of Representatives must be held per year, but Representation also means contact and participation in local affairs and public events.

More work and organization is the responsibility of the individual municipal representatives, who have a specific constituency, while the lists are not linked to such tasks. At the same time, the support and popularity of a representative office largely depends on the work actively performed outside the representative body.

The level of fees is also important because it can even be a technical tool in the hands of a city government that controls the majority of the board.

A higher honor could be argued that a well-paid MP will be less stubborn with leadership as they can earn a living more cautiously. However, a low fee can encourage parliamentarians to supplement their livelihoods with other occupations and thus neutralize them in municipal work.

In the long term, the solution could be to include the remuneration of municipal representatives in a uniform system or regulate it between a minimum and a maximum.

Cover image: Getty Images Hungary Photographer: NurPhoto



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