South Yorkshire Mayor to give away his £79,500 salary and promises residents won't pay 'mayoral tax'

South Yorkshire mayor Dan Jarvis will not take a recommended salary of nearly £80,000 a year and residents will not pay a mayoral tax.
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Following the implementation of the devolution deal, an independent panel suggested Mayor Jarvis should be paid £79,500 per annum for his role.

But the Sheffield City Region head, who is also MP for Barnsley Central, said he would be donating his salary to good causes and charities across the area.

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The mayor has been working with no salary for his mayoral work for over two years due to the incomplete devolution deal.

Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis MPSheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis MP
Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis MP

In a meeting of the mayor and South Yorkshire council leaders, Mr Jarvis also said he would not be implementing a mayoral precept that would add a bill on residents’ council tax to pay for services.

Mayor Jarvis, who left the meeting while leaders deliberated on the proposals, accepted the panel’s recommendations of the salary amount but also welcomed the decision that it would be instead given to good causes.

Speaking after the meeting, Mayor Jarvis said: “I said in my manifesto that I would not be introducing a mayoral precept and I’m sticking to that.

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"In the midst of the pandemic there is already a massive financial strain on people and communities across South Yorkshire and I am not going to add to that burden.

“As a result of the devolution deal, we have been able to secure significant additional resources in terms of £30million of gainshare and £36million of the Adult Education Budget.

“Rather than asking South Yorkshire’s residents and businesses to put their hand in their pockets to support our economic recovery, we need Government to step up and back our plans for economic recovery.

"This will not only benefit our region but the wider north and the whole country.”

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