Councillors’ pay in Rochford is based on the advice of a panel of independent members of the public.
Earlier this year they recommended big increases for the top councillors (the ones in the council cabinet) – and the council agreed to this.
Recently the panel has been considering what to do next year. The council cabinet had told the panel it would like to see an increase in line with whatever percentage increase council staff get.
Howver this time the panel is suggesting no increases at all – except possibly for the mileage allowance.
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An interesting article in the Evening Standard this week.
Dozens of town hall chiefs on six-figure salaries could lose their jobs under Tory plans to shake up local government, it was reported today.
The head of a larger local authority could take responsibility for a smaller town hall, scrapping the need for two chief executives. The plan is being pushed by shadow communities secretary Eric Pickles and would be based on changes in his local area.
The Brentwood and Ongar MP has seen Brentwood Council remove its chief executive in March and pays Essex County Council £30,000 a year to share top official Joanna Killian. Areas which could see pooling of resources include childcare, benefits and council tax. Town hall pay has been cast into the spotlight as many chief executives now earn more than Cabinet ministers. Joe Duckworth, chief executive of Newham, is said to have a remuneration package of £240,000, and 800 town hall officials were paid in excess of £100,000 a year, according to a TaxPayers Alliance report. A Tory source added: “There is super-inflation of pay that bears no correlation to the level of services”
To encourage sharing of resources, town halls could keep a greater share of council tax.
The Local Government Association has defended the pay of chief executives, saying they are below those of individuals running businesses with a similar sized budget in the private sector.
Could this be the start of a more larger scale review, which would look at the salaries of district council employees such as Rochford?
I won’t comment now on whether the salaries are justified. But I am very against the principle of having a Chief Executive wear two hats.
If you think that councils are just about local administration – collecting the council tax and recycling rubbish- then I suppose it doesn’t matter to you. But if you think that councils are about local democracy then this makes a big difference.
What happens when there is fundamental difference of opinion between Brentwood District and Essex County on an important issue? After all it happened between Rochford and Essex over an incinerator….