Kentish Express Ashford & District
County Hall coffers hit by £11m in redundancy and exit packages
Kent County Council has spent more than £11 million in four years on staff redundancies and exit packages, new figures show.
The authority has had to shed hundreds of jobs in recent years to save money in the face of the government’s austerity drive and dwindling grants.
But the cost-cutting has come at a price, with a mixture of compulsory and voluntary redundancies leaving the authority with a bill of £11.6m over the last four years.
Draft accounts from the body show that for 2016-17, £2.3m was spent on payments made to 275 former employees – 100 more than in 2015-16.
Of these, 28 were on salaries between £20,000 and £150,000, while 247 earned below £20,000.
The closure of a secondary school in Folkestone, Pent Valley, involved 204 compulsory job losses.
Over the last four years, 1,083 jobs have been cut. At the same time, the council’s three most senior directors have seen their overall earnings break the £200,000 mark, once pension payments and other unspecified allowances are incorporated.
David Coburn, corporate director for business strategy and support, earned £243,265 – a £42,219 pension contribution and salary of £193,385.
Andrew Ireland, corporate director for social care, earned £229,151 (salary £189,381), while corporate director for education, Patrick Leeson, earned £205,575 (£160,804 salary) .
The county council no longer has a chief executive.