24/01/08
Have you heard what the fat cats at county hall have been awarding themselves? huge 20% pay increases! Well lets name them, they are: MARK HENDERSON (Chief Executive), who's pay has gone from about £150,000 to £180,000. JILL DIXON (Deputy Chief Executive), her pay has gone from £110,000 to about £135,000. And STEVE MASON (Director of Finance) who's pay has gone from £100,000 to about £120,000.
Pure greed! Is what I have got to say, Oh and lets not forget the man behind it all, that illustrious leader of Northumberland County Council: Cllr Peter Hillman, because it is Cllr Hillman who has authorised these increases using his delegated powers he has as leader of the council which means that none of these decisions will ever make it to committee for discussion let alone full council. So basically we have an authority which is nigh on £300 million pounds in debt is trying to make £4.7 million pounds in savings, at the same time making cuts to adult education services and wanting to cut social care in homes, increasing the council tax by something like 2%............need I go on? While the executives are lining there own pockets! Not to mention the new rumours floating around that some councillors from county hall are attempting to get the same golden hand shakes as what the Scottish Parliament members got after the last election, £1000 a year for every year you have been a councillor. Is there no end to this abysmal administration bleeding this county dry! I mean how can people elect councillors like this who have no regard for democracy and have destroyed the education system. It really cannot be the case that people in Blyth and Wansbeck would elect an monkey if it was wearing a red rosette? Can it?
*To get the exact amounts of what these pay increases are I have submitted a freedom of information request to the county council.
