‘Bloated team’ at council has six paid more than £100k
SIX MEMBERS of cash-strapped Sefton Council will soon be earning more than £100,000 a year each, with the authority recruiting for two new directors.
Dwayne Johnson, the chief executive at the local authority earns between £140,000 and £145,000 according to public documents.
The documents also reveal that another executive director earns £120,000-125,000, while two others take salaries of £110,000-115,000 and £100,000-105,000 respectively.
On January 23, the council agreed a recommendation to create two new posts.
An executive director of adult social care and health and an executive director of children’s social care and education will each be paid £116,742.
When the posts are filled the council will have six top officers earning more than £100,000 a year.
Like many councils, Sefton has struggled with austerity cuts over the past decade.
It has had to find cuts of £233m since 2010 and is once again planning to raise council tax this year as it looks to stay afloat.
A council employee, who did not want to be named, said that he felt obliged to speak out about the wages, as the council has made cuts to services and redundancies.
He said: “I feel compelled to speak out about this outrageous restructuring which is seeing six officers take home pay nearly four times more than the national average and at a time when there are cuts to services, redundancies and pay.
“Then you have the new chief executive himself earning even more than his bloated team.
“Labour councillors need to get in the real world. Sefton is not the size of Manchester or Liverpool. Why do we need such a large executive team being awarded such ridiculous amounts of money?”
The newly approved senior management structure is:
Chief executive. Executive director without portfolio projects.
Executive director adults social care and health.
Executive director children’s social care and education.
Executive director corporate resources and customer services.
Executive director people.
Executive director place.
The council said that the new roles were necessary because of the importance of these areas and the increasing demands in children’s social care and education and adult social care.
The council hopes the two new roles will help create “stronger reporting lines” and “allow the chief executive to adopt an appropriate concentration on strategic issues”.
It was reported earlier this year that Sefton had lost 51% of government funding between 2010 and 2020 – the equivalent of £722 from every household in the borough.
An independent review by council watchdog the Local Government Association earlier this year said Sefton serves its community well through huge cuts and a “challenging period of austerity”.
A council spokesman said: “The senior management structure is necessary to meet the growing strategic demands facing the council and the increasing challenges for key services.
“The current structure will enable the delivery of the council’s objectives and core purpose at both an operational and strategic level.
“We pride ourselves on being an authority with a strong executive leadership which is able to meet the challenges and opportunities that Sefton face and compliment the additional resources invested in these key services.
“It is also worth nothing we are comparable with other councils of a similar size.”