GOVERNMENT-DECREED austerity is the buzzword in local government this month but at Hackney council it’s time to break open the bubbly.
For an exclusive group of executives, salaries are going with a bang like the pop of a champagne cork: at least nine Hackney chiefs pocket more than £100,000 a year and two of them more than £200,000.
Their total remuneration, including employer pension contribution, is:
* Corporate director of children Alan Wood, above left, £250,704 – for the first time more than the chief executive is paid;
* Chief executive Tim Shields, right, £212,556;
* Corporate director of legal and democratic services Gifty Edila, below right, £173,051;
* Corporate director of health and community services Kim Wright, at left, £166,477;
* Corporate director of finance Ian Williams £162,879;
* Director of public health Penny Bevan, below left, £136,253;
* Assistant director, planning and regeneration John Allen £117,594;
* Assistant chief executive of projects Joanna Sumner £114,846;
* Corporate director of housing Charlotte Graves (employed by council subsidiary Hackney Homes) £166,659.
Most residents would consider running the UK more complex than running Hackney yet Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader “Dave” Cameron’s £142,500 a year is below several salaries in this borough.
Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the right-leaning Taxpayers’ Alliance, told Loving Dalston: “Families in Hackney are struggling with the demands of their council tax bills and they will be astonished to know that much of their hard-earned money has gone on big salaries and gold-plated pensions.”
Hackney council commented: “Salaries for senior officers are in line with those in local authorities across the country and reflect the roles’ considerable responsibilities.”
A “corporate restructure” in 2010-11 had cut “senior management costs” by £8.2 million in the ensuing period.
David Altheer 291015
* Backstory: How Hackney Home saves on wages; Hackney boss at heart of election fiasco; Top whack for top execs; The Hackney high earners
* Emboldened underscored words in most cases indicate a hyperlink, a reader service rare among websites. If a link does not work, it is probably because the site to which the URL refers has not been maintained. Most photographs can be visually enlarged by pressing on them.
Many thanks to Loving Dalston for this informative item.
A Hackney council spokesperson claims: “Salaries for senior officers are in line with those in local authorities across the country and reflect the roles’ considerable responsibilities.”
However, services in Hackney are not in line with those in local authorities across the country. If the senior officers are underperforming and selling Hackney citizens short – with inferior services – it makes sense not to pay them the same, doesn’t it?