A former Watford councillor has been paid more than £2,000 in allowances, despite living in America.

Critics of Sheila Smillie, who resigned as a Central Ward councillor at the end of August after deciding to extend a family stay in Florida, are demanding that she pay the money back.

In last week’s Watford Observer, she said: “While my term in office as a councillor is not due to end until next May, I though it would be wrong to remain on the council as an absentee councillor – which I would be allowed to do.”

However, political opponents have called for her to repay the allowance, paid for with taxpayers’ money, that she received during the time she was out of the country.

Watford Borough Council will this year award each of its 36 councillors, who represent 12 wards, a basic annual allowance of £7,209.

This is designed to reflect the time and effort members spend sitting on committees, completing casework for residents and expenses for telephone calls, travel within the town and caring for dependants.

Furthermore, a handful of councillors will also receive a “special responsibility allowance”, including an extra £2,884 for the chairmen of the audit and council functions committees; £7,930 for the chairmen of scrutiny panels, development control and licensing committees; and an additional £10,815 to portfolio holders that make up the council’s cabinet.

Ms Smillie last attendance at a meeting was at a development control committee meeting on April 22 this year.

No meetings were held in the run-up to the election in May, but Ms Smillie was absent for the annual council meeting held later that month.

She also offered her apologies for a council meeting on July 21 and again five days later for a meeting of the functions committee, on which she sat, before submitting her resignation on August 31.

A council representative confirmed Ms Smillie had received the allowance to which she was entitled until this time.

Mike Jackson, chairman of Watford Labour Party, said it was “intolerable” the former councillor had collected a share of her allowance, thought to be in the region of £2,400, for the time she was in America before announcing her resignation.

He said: “This money is paid to her to undertake her duties representing the residents of Central Ward – a duty that she patently failed to carry out for four months.”

Mr Jackson also criticised the council for holding a by-election to find Ms Smillie’s replacement, at a cost of more than £6,000, just seven months before the seat will be subject to another election next May.

Another Labour supporter, Mike Haley, from Stanley Road, said it was “quite shocking” to discover a councillor had not attended a meeting since April while still claiming full allowances.

In a letter to the Watford Observer Mr Haley writes: “Nothing is ever their [the Watford Liberal Democrats] fault.

“Even a Lib Dem councillor taking an ‘extended holiday’ as their agent described it at the Watford Council Taxpayers’ expense is explained away on their leaflets as just one of those things and nothing untoward.”

Dorothy Thornhill, Watford’s elected Liberal Democrat mayor, said it was “unreasonable” and “unfair” to target Ms Smillie.

She said: “There was no indication she would stay [in Florida].

“They could have decided to come back. She’s been a good councillor and earned that right.

“There are lots of councillors in their final year who are standing down and who don’t attend meetings.

"As far as Sheila is concerned, she’s been a top notch councillor and it’s to her credit she resigned and not tried to eek it out.”

Mayor Thornhill said Ms Smillie was still responding to letters and casework by email.

And she slammed other parties for taking a one-sided view on the issue by suggesting “people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”.

She added: “We’ve all got people who don’t attend perfectly and a councillor’s role is not just attending meetings at the Town Hall.

“It’s a bit unfair to hammer her for being honest.”

Previously, former Councillor Georgina Tara Mann split from the Green Party in January this year as a result of her failure to attend meetings. After several months as an independent, she did not seek re-election in Callowland in May.

Another Liberal Democrat councillor, Azam Razzaq, also resigned after deciding to settle in Dubai in April 2009.

The former Leggatts Ward representative had been flying to and from the country over several months as he considered an offer of employment and had only attended two meetings in 2008/09. He had had a 100 per cent record in 2007/08 and missed only one of 30 in 2006/07.

A by-election for a new Central Ward councillor, to replace Ms Smillie, will be held on Thursday, October 14.