County council chiefs get 20 per cent pay rise
Chief executive Mark Henderson, one of those to benefit from the deal.
By ANNA SMITH
TOP council bosses have been given a 20 per cent pay rise in a golden handcuffs deal.
The move will cost Northumberland County Council an extra £6,200 every month to keep three senior officials in post.Council leader Peter Hillman granted the payments at a time when the authority is seeking to slash £4.7m from budgets.Chief executive Mark Henderson, who was on around £150,000 a year, deputy chief executive Jill Dixon, who was paid about £110,000 and finance director Steven Mason, who earned around £100,000, have been receiving the extra wages since October.Coun Hillman said he was happy to nod through the salary increases to ensure the officers stay with the authority until it is wound up next year when unitary government takes over."It is completely understandable for staff in times of uncertainty to want more security and to look for other jobs," he said."However, it's in times of change like this that it is also vital to ensure there is continuity in terms of leadership and smooth transition.""I am pleased that we have been able to do this to secure posts which are essential to making the reorganisation happen in the best possible way."The county council will be scrapped along with Northumberland's six districts when a single authority takes over in April 2009.And Coun Hillman says it is important to retain key staff in the meantime to avoid having to pay large wages for temporary workers."All organisations going through major change face a challenge in terms of keeping staff and it's common practice to offer inc
entives for people to stay to make sure that changes happen as effectively and smoothly as possible," he said."Losing people in critical posts can not only damage or delay the transition process, but it is also very expensive in terms of the costs of recruitment to replace people in senior posts, which run into tens of thousands of pounds."The full council will meet next month to set its budget, which will include substantial efficiency savings, including cuts to frontline services.Proposals include increasing care charges for the elderly and disabled and increasing Council Tax by up to 2.5 per cent.A spokeswoman for Blyth Valley Council confirmed that the authority had no plans to set up enhanced salaries for staff in the run up to the unitary take-over."We have not introduced retention payments for any staff and are not in the process of considering this," she said.
Chief executive Mark Henderson, one of those to benefit from the deal.
By ANNA SMITH
TOP council bosses have been given a 20 per cent pay rise in a golden handcuffs deal.
The move will cost Northumberland County Council an extra £6,200 every month to keep three senior officials in post.Council leader Peter Hillman granted the payments at a time when the authority is seeking to slash £4.7m from budgets.Chief executive Mark Henderson, who was on around £150,000 a year, deputy chief executive Jill Dixon, who was paid about £110,000 and finance director Steven Mason, who earned around £100,000, have been receiving the extra wages since October.Coun Hillman said he was happy to nod through the salary increases to ensure the officers stay with the authority until it is wound up next year when unitary government takes over."It is completely understandable for staff in times of uncertainty to want more security and to look for other jobs," he said."However, it's in times of change like this that it is also vital to ensure there is continuity in terms of leadership and smooth transition.""I am pleased that we have been able to do this to secure posts which are essential to making the reorganisation happen in the best possible way."The county council will be scrapped along with Northumberland's six districts when a single authority takes over in April 2009.And Coun Hillman says it is important to retain key staff in the meantime to avoid having to pay large wages for temporary workers."All organisations going through major change face a challenge in terms of keeping staff and it's common practice to offer inc
entives for people to stay to make sure that changes happen as effectively and smoothly as possible," he said."Losing people in critical posts can not only damage or delay the transition process, but it is also very expensive in terms of the costs of recruitment to replace people in senior posts, which run into tens of thousands of pounds."The full council will meet next month to set its budget, which will include substantial efficiency savings, including cuts to frontline services.Proposals include increasing care charges for the elderly and disabled and increasing Council Tax by up to 2.5 per cent.A spokeswoman for Blyth Valley Council confirmed that the authority had no plans to set up enhanced salaries for staff in the run up to the unitary take-over."We have not introduced retention payments for any staff and are not in the process of considering this," she said.
