Leicestershire councillors to vet pay for top jobs
Civil servant appointments on salaries of more than £100,000 will have to be approved by councillors under a new regime at County Hall.
Members at County Hall are set to approve a new pay policy for officials tomorrow.
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Leicestershire councillors at County Hall are set to approve a new pay policy for officials
Until now, chief officers have been able to approve large salaries for new appointments – usually after informal discussions with the elected leader.
From April 1, an employment committee of councillors will have to consider any six-figure packages.
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The move, suggested by the Government, is designed to increase transparency and end the practice of major pay decisions being made behind closed doors.
Leicestershire County Council currently employs five officers on salaries in excess of £100,000 – excluding head teachers.
Chief executive John Sinnott is paid £191,000 and director of corporate resources Brian Roberts is on £147,000.
Conservative deputy council leader and finance spokesman, Councillor Byron Rhodes, said: "It will ensure salaries do not get thrown into the stratosphere. It is about giving councillors more say.
"On the other hand, we will pay whatever we need to get the people we need to do a job for the county council."
Coun Rhodes said he would take a dim view of any attempt to create posts on salaries of just under £100,000, thus avoiding the threshold for them to be considered by councillors.
Mr Sinnott said: "The chances of the county council recruiting anyone on a salary of more than £100,000 are remote."
Liberal Democrat group leader Simon Galton said: "Councillors have always had a say in this kind of thing informally.
"Group leaders would be called in for informal chats about these decisions but they would happen behind closed doors.
"This will make things more transparent. I welcome that.
"There are occasions where there has been salary inflation because of copy-catting – a council puts up the pay for a job and another does the same because they don't want to lose the person they have.
"My view is if a council official would want to move to another authority for an extra £20,000 a year, let them."
11 Comments
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by Gamekeeper
Thursday, March 21 2013, 10:27AM
“The numbers are staggering !”
by NickDiPerna1
Wednesday, March 20 2013, 12:58PM
“Cyberandy. No we aren't. It's like choosing between dog mess and cat mess. Both reek of cronyism. It shows that political power and monetary power should not be left in the hands of the few.”
by cyberandy
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 7:16PM
“And only last week some people were complaining about the salary paid to Leicester's elected mayor. Seems that we here in the city are getting a bargain, compared to county taxpayers.”
by disident3
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 6:38PM
“Well it shows there is no shortage of assistant assistant assistant Directors; is that in case to many are playing golf?”
by Gamekeeper
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 4:49PM
“HOW MUCH ! 4 of them earn or rather are paid , more than the Prime Minister, how can that be ?”
by Gamekeeper
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 4:17PM
“HOW MUCH ? 4 of them paid more than the Prime Minister !”
by Gamekeeper
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 4:16PM
“HOW MUCH !!!!! 4 of them paid more than the Prime Minister!!!!”
by NickDiPerna1
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 12:37PM
“Eastonian. You need to be a bit of a socioapath to climb the ladders of politics and bureaucracy. And yes, sociopaths tend to lack empathy.”
by Eastonian
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 12:00PM
“The saying "money for old rope" comes to mind. Just where is the commonsense in all this madness? I bet the person who dreams up these titles is also on a pretty penny.
How do they sleep at night, pretty comfortably I guess!!”
by NickDiPerna1
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 11:44AM
“Outrageously high salaries for little accountability. A more realistic pay grading structure for all council workers would be: £12,000 p.a. for standard operatives, £18,000 p.a. for team leaders and £24,000 p.a. for heads and managers. No pension, no expenses claims or using work's time for union activities. 5 year time limit for every worker in office to avoid stagnancy and corrupt practises. You would save loads of money for the hard pressed tax-payer.”